The Will To Live
by Kadeana
Summary: Will does something that may change her past and destroy her future. WillxCaleb
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H. or any of its characters.

The Will to Live  
Chapter 1: It Begins  
By: Kadeana

Will Vandom dragged herself out of bed. She looked at her clock; her eyes vacantly locked on the numbers. It was seven on the dot, past time to get ready for school. She groggily looked at her calendar. It read, July 28.

Oh great, she thought. Every year on this very date, Will found herself in a serious funk. She had no explanation for it and didn't want one.

Her mother seemed to float in her room. "Will, you are going to be late for school," she declared in an accusatory tone.

"Yeah, so?" Will muttered.

"I foresee grounding and detention in your future if you don't pick up the pace!"

"Yes Mom," Will replied.

What is wrong with her? Her mother thought. She had been anticipating a verbal battle, but instead Will complied without a fuss.

* * *

Her companions, fellow guardians, and best friends noticed her mood while they sat in the Lin's restaurant. She sat at their usual table with her head resting against it.

"Um, Will," Irma Lair said suddenly.

"Hmm," Will replied. She did not bother to look up.

"Are you okay?"

"Because you seem kind of out of it," Taranee Cook explained.

"You've barely touched your soda," Hay Lin said brightly.

"And you look like Blunk picked out that awful assemble," Cornelia Hale declared frowning in distaste.

"I'm fine . . . I'm not out of it . . . I'm not thirsty . . . I'm wearing what's clean," she mumbled still not looking up. What's clean meant nothing she had on matched with anything else.

"I'm not out of it, doesn't solve the riddle of why you ignored Matt today in study hall," Taranee persisted.

"He was being a pest."

"But you like Matt," Irma reminded her.

Not today I don't, Will thought. You guys aren't too hott today either.

"And he's this close," Hay Lin held her index finger and thumb an inch apart, "to asking you to the dance," she finished happily.

"I doubt Mom will let me go anyway."

"She shouldn't have let you out of the house looking like that," Cornelia mumbled. Her blue eyes widened. "Did I say that aloud?"

"Will you continue pretending not to flirt with Caleb and leave me alone," Will mumbled back.

"Fine," Cornelia huffed. "And I don't flirt with Caleb." She blushed prettily.

"Please," Irma muttered sarcastically.

"Will, tell us what's bothering you," Hay Lin commanded sweetly.

"I'm just having a very bad day," Will relented softly. "Look, practice is off. I gotta go." She stood up to leave.

"What!" Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin exclaimed.

"See ya when I see ya," Will replied. She picked up her backpack and hurried off. Caleb, who had just walked in, moved aside before he was stepped on.

He rushed to the other Guardians. "What's wrong with her?" He asked.

"Bad outfit . . . bad hair . . . bad attitude, where do I start?" Cornelia replied.

"She's just having a bad day," Hay Lin replied.

"How can a day be bad?" Caleb asked.

"It's an expression, Cave Man," Cornelia said.

"She's not feeling like herself?" Irma explained patiently.

"Oh, then whom is she feeling like?" Caleb inquired. The four guardians hit their heads in impatience.

Will stood on the Old Williams Bridge looking down at the huge body of water below her. Nine hours left. Anything horrible could happen in the hours to come. Now that she was the Guardian of the Veil, her feelings were intensified. Dread crept through her blood stream. "I'll just have to be on my guard," she said determined.

"Hey!"

Will almost had a heart attack as Blunk climbed up beside her. "Would Will be interested in this?" he asked grinning. He offered her a Ukulele. "Good bug catcher."

"No."

"It also makes horrible sounds when provoked," Blunk revealed smiling.

"Wow . . . but no," Will said in boredom. "Go away."

"Blunk hungry."

"Will doesn't care if Blunk starves!" She snapped. The ugly little passling actually looked hurt. No need to take out your feelings on him, she thought. "Sorry, so sorry," she said sucking in a long breath. She fished her now flattened lunch out of her backpack. She gave it to him smiling. "It's not much but it's food."

She watched almost amused as Blunk opened the bag and found the goodies. "My mom made that tuna sandwich," she said. "It's disgusting, but you'll probably like it." Blunk ate the sandwich like it was the best thing he'd ever eaten. "You're weird and you smell but you're not all that bad." Blunk grinned.

A tracker appeared at the end of the bridge and Blunk smelled him. He dropped the lunch bag, screaming.

"What is," her eyes widened in shock when she saw the tracker, "wrong?" she finished lamely. "Blunk you better get out of here."

She pulled the Heart of Kandrakar out of her pocket. As quick as lightening, the Tracker hit her hand with his whip. "Oww!" She exclaimed dropping the Heart.

The tracker's dog ran toward them, as Blunk picked up the Heart. His intent was to give it back to Will. The huge dog snapped at them. They both jumped back colliding with the railing. The rotting wood railing snapped against their weight. They both fell.

While falling, Will reached out her hand for the Heart. Blunk threw it to her. As she caught it, a weird red portal opened up under her. She fell inside it.

The Tracker, rubbing the dog's head, waited until he heard the two loud splashes before disappearing back from whence they came.

Twenty minutes later, a drenched Blunk hurried in the back room of the Lin restaurant. He'd made it to shore, holding on to a piece of the railing. The Guardians, Caleb, and Yan Lin were there. "Hurry, follow Blunk!" He commanded out of breath.

"How about, no," Cornelia replied.

"Will and Blunk attacked by Tracker," Blunk revealed. "We fall off bridge before Will change." The others gasped. "Blunk can't find Will."

Under Blunk's direction, the others, including Yan Lin, made it to the bridge at record timing. They looked frantically over the railing for Will.

"We fall right there," Blunk pointed out where a section of the railing was now gone.

"She has to be alright!" Hay Lin wailed. "Will!" She heard no answering call. She yelled her name again.

"Irma, can you part the water?!" Yan Lin demanded.

"Not out of my guardian form," Irma whispered.

"I'm going down there!" Caleb declared.

"No, Caleb," Cornelia whispered frantically.

"She could drown," Caleb argued.

"Odds are, if she didn't make it to shore like Blunk, she has already," Taranee said in tears.

"No, we just have to get down there and search the shoreline," Hay Lin commanded. "I know she's somewhere down there."

"If Blunk made it, of course she did too," Cornelia said hopefully. "We just have to find her."

"Powerless Guardians." They all looked over to see Cedric. The big reptile had a wicked grin decorating his face.

"Cedric," Caleb spat.

"Where's Will?!" Taranee demanded angrily.

"If evil is willing, dead," he replied.

"You're going to pay for this!" Cornelia threatened.

"What are four powerless little girls, one passling, a wannabe rebel, and one old bat going to do?" He asked smirking.

"Kick your scaly butt," a familiar voice said from above. Will's voice. They all looked up. A guardian levitated in the air high above them, her long red hair whipping in the breeze. "Guardians Unite!" She held out the Heart.

"That's not Will," Caleb declared as the girls transformed.

"Hay Lin, Taranee get Mrs. Lin to safety!" The unknown guardian commanded after the girls had transformed. "We'll take care of Cedric."

"Okay." Hay Lin gently grabbed one of Yan Lin's arms. Taranee grabbed the other. They took to the air holding on to her gently.

"Earth!" Cornelia called. Cedric stood just at the end of the bridge. A large plant grew between him in the two guardians as they made their retreat.

"Thanks Corny!" They called.

"Water!" Irma called. A blast of water shot from her extended hands hitting Cedric. Cedric just gaped at the new guardian. He did nothing to dodge Irma's blast.

"Who are you?" He asked in horror. They watched the girl fall. They watched the passling's desperate search and then dash to find her help. Without their leader the other Guardians should be powerless. This was an unexpected development.

"Will, the Guardian of the Heart of Kandrakar," she replied smirking. "And you are about to be an a whole lot of pain." She extended her right hand forward. A pink energy beam formed at her command. A beam their Will could not possibly have made. She threw it at him.

Cedric went through the portal, before the beam hit him. Will extended her arm to the left. The beam changed course and flew harmlessly down in the water below. She flew over and closed the portal. She landed on the ground gracefully where Cedric once stood.

Hay Lin and Taranee came zipping back at this time. They landed by Irma, Cornelia, and Caleb. She held out the heart. They all changed back into their normal clothes. The girl was drenched. Her blue sweater and pants clung to her.

"Um, who is that?" Taranee asked.

"Me," she replied.

"Me who?" Hay Lin asked happily.

"Will," she replied as if Hay Lin had lost it. "Who else?"

"Okay, the Will we know is about so high," Irma demonstrated Will's height with her hands, "She has chin length red hair, and she can't throw energy beams to save her life."

"I assure you, I'm Will," she replied. "This is the weirdest thing that ever happened to me."

"I'd say," Cornelia muttered. It's not an everyday thing for a fourteen-year old girl to suddenly have the body of a twenty-year-older. A very proportioned twenty year older with long red locks. The world was so unfair. Why couldn't something cool like this happen to her?

"Did something happen to make you age rapidly?" Taranee asked.

"I'm from the future . . . I think," Will replied. "Judging from Irma's statement about me not knowing how to form energy beams, I'd say I jumped back about four years."

"Four years?" Hay Lin asked shocked. "You're like eighteen."

"How cool is that?" Irma demanded in awe.

"What's it like to be the ultimate age?" Cornelia asked brightening.

"Cool," Will answered lamely. Being eighteen sucked, in her honest opinion.

Caleb could only gape at Will and her news. In four years, Will will look like that?! He could not look down on her anymore; she was his height.

"Where's our Will?" Taranee asked softly.

"Ahhh, I'm guessing my time," Will replied thoughtfully.

"How could this happen?" Cornelia wondered.

"I don't know," Will replied. She walked passed her younger friends. She walked to the broken bridge railing where she'd jumped to end it all. Fate had brought her here instead.

* * *

A/N: That's the first chapter. For the life of me, I couldn't remember the name of the Lyn's restaurant. More will be revealed soon. The rating is T because of what Will tried to do but failed, causing the weird events of this story, and for other situations.

A/N 2: I changed a few things. I also just dropped the Wilma. I had no idea it was the wrong name. Every site I went to for info called her Wilma, and only one was different. Sorry . . . .

A/N 3: I am editing this story.


	2. It Resumes

Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H.

Chapter 2: It Resumes

The young guardians, Caleb, and Blunk stared at the new and improved Will Vandom as she looked over the horizon. She looked the exact same. Her face hadn't seemed to age much. Her skin was still flawless, her eyes still shone with a light that commanded attention and respect. Even though the long red wet locks, had to be heavy, even though she had to be freezing, her held was held high.

The height, the hair, and the body is what threw them off at first, but now they could clearly see that it was their Will. They wondered about what she could be thinking about that had her looking so serious; so un-Will like.

After a long moment she spoke, "We should go speak to Mrs. Lin." She turned back to them smiling softly. "Maybe she will know why this happened." _I just hope she doesn't deep-fry me when she finds out what I did or tried to do,_ she thought nervously.

"Your hair is as long as mine," Cornelia Hale declared.

"You think my hair is long, you should see yours and Hay Lin's in a few years," Will said walking back to the group. "Besides, Mom always liked my hair long . . ." her voice seemed to trail off.

"Lets head back," Caleb commanded finally speaking up. They started walking back in the direction leading to the Silver Dragon.

Hay Lin glanced at her watch. "Uh-oh," she said suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Irma Lair asked.

"Will was supposed to be home five minutes ago," Hay Lin said.

"Ouch . . . well Will you can totally kiss goodbye thoughts of going to the dance," Cornelia declared.

"Not to mention, being grounded forever," Taranee Cook declared.

As they walked to the Lin's, Will ignored the looks her young friends were given her. She figured her younger self was getting the same perusal as she.

"Will got bigger!" Blunk blurted. He finally broke his stupor of confusion. They were taking back alleys so Will and Blunk would not draw any unwanted attention.

"I'm glad you noticed," she replied gracing Blunk with a smile. "I would hug ya, but I can smell you haven't grasped the concept of a bath yet."

"Blunk tried to save Will."

"Thank you." She gave him another rare bright smile. Her eyes rose to Caleb's who'd been staring at her. She made a face at him, winked playfully, and then closed her eyes. She knew the route to the restaurant by heart. She never saw Caleb blush.

"Do we ever defeat Phobos?" Taranee asked walking with her hands clasped behind her back.

"I don't think I'm supposed to give out info like that," Will answered thoughtfully. "I don't want to change anything."

"Well, is it to cataclysmic to let me know whether I was the most popular girl in school?" Cornelia asked dreamily.

"You should already know you were," Will replied. "Will be . . . or whatever."

"Are we all still together?" Irma asked hopefully.

"I-yeah we are," Will answered.

"Are you sure that our Will is in your time?" Hay Lin asked. "She may be . . . still back there somewhere."

"If I'm here healthy and humming, than odds are . . . she's fine."

* * *

Will not realizing she'd fallen inside a portal, transformed into the Guardian of Energy. Her wings flapped causing her to levitate, just about twenty feet above the water. She looked down frantically for Blunk. Something large crashed in to her from above. Will and what ever creamed her plummeted into the water below. She swam to the surface with strong strokes. She surfaced just as her attacker. Her angry spitfire gaze locked with stunned yet very familiar green eyes.

"Will," he stuttered shocked.

"Who are you?" She asked suspiciously. _Okay, he looks just like Caleb,_ she thought. The crescent moon scar around the side of his left eye was the major difference. He also had more of a mature look going.

"Will it's me . . . Caleb," he said softly. Her wings started flapping and she took to the air. She looked down at the young man who looked so much like Caleb, but could not possibly be him.

"Yeah . . . sure you're Caleb," she replied sarcastically.

"Could we discuss this on the bridge?" He requested logically.

_Ha, your voice is different. _Will opened her mouth to deny the request--he was a stranger who didn't seem to care she was flying in Tinkerbell get up--but quickly saw the logic in his words. She made a descent, grabbing him under his arms. She flew back up toward the bridge. She caught sight of Blunk already on the bridge cheering them on.

_How did he get up there? What in the world is going on? _she thought.

"How'd Blunk get up there?" She finally blurted aloud. "He fell when I did."

"Caleb save Will!" Blunk cheered.

_What? Who was flying whom up to the bridge? _And Blunk obviously couldn't see passed his nose. This guy could not possibly be Caleb. _He's too heavy! _She finally got the crazed stranger, who thought he was Caleb of all people, on the bridge.

She stood looking up at him. Caleb was taller than her, but this guy towered her. He also had the Matt Damon from The Borne Identity series body thing going on. He also sported a brown leather jacket where Caleb wore a long brown trench coat.

"So, you want to clue me in on what is going on?" Will asked.

"Big Will turn to little Will," Blunk explained. "Blunk see Big Will jump off bridge. Big Will falls into red portal. Little Will comes out of portal," Blunk said grinning. "Caleb jumps in after Big Will, collides with Little Will."

"Ahhh . . . okay," Will replied confused.

"Will fell inside a red portal?" Caleb asked. Most of what Blunk said was news to him. He came on the scene just as the prodigal red head jumped. He could think of nothing but going in after her.

"Yes," Blunk replied.

"I've never heard of a red portal," Caleb said thoughtfully.

"What is going on?" Will demanded freaked out. "Why is he calling you Caleb? And what is this foreign language about Little Wills and Big Wills?"

"I-" Caleb started.

"The Caleb I know is a fifteen year old arrogant showoff!" Will ranted. "And the Blunk I know stinks like something crawled inside a rotten egg and died!" Blunk found this hilarious. She'd noticed that there was no bad smell polluting the air around them.

"Calm down Will," Caleb said gently. "From what I figured out so far, you came through a time portal."

"Time portal?" Will repeated skeptically.

"Special portal that turns Big Will little," Blunk revealed.

"No Blunk," Caleb said shaking his head. "A portal that transferred our Will to her time and vice versa."

"But why?" Will asked shocked. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"I don't think it's you who caused this and is learning a lesson," Caleb replied softly. _Will, why did you do it? Why didn't you just come to me? I did promise to keep you always.

* * *

  
_

**A/N: **Thank you for reading my story. My next chapter will take a little longer to come out. I have to update my Tekken fic. I'll try to get better at descriptions. I realize I'm terrible at it. Oh yeah, this is a Caleb/Will fic. Thanks again for reading.


	3. Complicated Hearts

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies.

Chapter 3: Complicated Hearts

"I have never heard of something like this occurring," Yan Lin admitted softly. They were in the backroom that served as a meeting place for the guardians and a bedroom for Caleb because he was wanted in Meridian. Will Vandom sat across from Yan Lin at the table. Caleb and the other guardians sat on his cot just watching Will. Blunk sat on the floor with a blanket wrapped around him.

"Me either," Will muttered. She looked at her young friends who quickly tried to look away. She adjusted the blanket she was engulfed in. "And let me tell ya, I've been through some weird stuff."

"Will is so lucky," Irma Lair declared her eyes shining. "I would pay every penny I have to get a glimpse of my future."

"Irma you don't have a penny," Cornelia Hale reminded her.

"Oh yeah," Irma muttered. "Then I'd give up my new Harry Potter book."

"The future isn't always great," Will said softly.

"Something must've happened to trigger this," Taranee Cook declared.

"Will had been acting weird all day," Hay Lin said.

"How so?" Yan Lin asked.

"She actually ignored Matt," Irma replied in horror.

"That's hardly a cataclysmic event," Caleb muttered.

"For Will it is," Cornelia replied.

"Are you still with Matt?" Hay Lin asked smiling.

Will smiled at her. She wondered if Hay was in love with Matt even then. She put that thought aside. Hay Lin didn't have the opposite sex on her mind at this tender point in her life. Even if she did crush on him, she was blissfully unaware of it. "We stayed together for almost a year," she answered.

"I'd hoped you two would stay together forever," Hay Lin sighed.

"Life can change with a blink of an eye," Will replied. "Some things you deem important in your life aren't so important down the road. Matt and I mutually broke it off."

"Okay, what does Matt have to do with this?" Taranee wondered.

"Nothing," Caleb muttered.

"Will was in a very bad mood," Cornelia replied getting back on topic. "She wasn't her usual self."

"A bad mood hardly calls for such drastic events," Irma declared. "If that were the case, Cornelia so would have been drafted first." Cornelia glared at her.

"I do not think our Will caused this," Yan Lin said. Will raised her eyes to the wise older lady. "Care to enlighten us Will?"

Will looked at her friends once again. They all stared eagerly at her. "Not in front of them."

"Why not?" Hay Lin asked pouting.

"You wouldn't understand," Will whispered honestly.

"Please, you're only four years older than us," Cornelia said rolling her eyes heavenward.

"It's not like we're little kids," Taranee declared.

"We have to know what happens, so we can fix it," Caleb said his green eyes flashing.

"Do you always have to try and fix things?" Will asked softly.

"It's the rebel in me," Caleb answered softly.

"You guys can't help me," Will whispered. "I have to figure this out on my own." She rose to leave.

"Girls why don't you help Caleb bus the restaurant," Yan Lin suggested. "I would like to have a moment alone with Will."

A chorus of "Buts" started but Yan Lin cut them off. "Please."

"Yes Ma'am." The young girls and a reluctant Caleb left the two alone. They then had to shoo Blunk from the premises. He and his new blanket headed for his favorite trashcan.

Will sat back down at the table. She dreaded the conversation ahead. She never wanted to disappoint Yan Lin. She was like a mother to her. _You got your wish. You wanted to speak with her one last time before she . . . ._

"Do you have something you wish to tell me?" Yan Lin requested. Will's aura broke her heart. It's usual bright pink was overshadowed by darkness._ What's happened to you?_

"I-I can't," Will said desperately. _I don't want you to be disappointed in me._

"Why not?" Yan Lin asked. "You have a sadness about you that someone so young and beautiful should not bare."

"I-I hate death," Will said. Her hands balled into fists. Pretty ironic statement for what she tried to do earlier.

"It's a part of life," Yan Lin said cautiously.

"For some sooner rather than later," Will whispered. "I've been through this twice already, why is this happening again?"

"Who's dead?"

"I'd just come home," Will replied tearfully. "Why now?"

"Whose death caused this time warp?"

"It happened to prevent me from causing my own death," Will said vehemently. "I tried to x myself from the equation called life." Yan Lin jumped in her seat in shock. Her shocked gasped echoed through the room.

"I'm sorry . . . I'm so sorry," Will said letting her tears fall.

* * *

Will, Caleb, and Blunk took the back route to the Lin restaurant. Will tried to note differences in the city but the back alleys still looked like . . . back alleys. "Does Mom and I still live in the same place?" Will asked. She wrapped Caleb's wet jacket more securely around her small shoulders.

Blunk opened his mouth to speak, but a scolding glare from Caleb made him shut his mouth. "You moved over a year ago now," Caleb replied.

"Get out of here," Will said in surprise.

"It's true," he replied.

"Did we defeat Phobos before-"

"That you'll find out when and if it happens."

"What do you suppose I . . . future I that is . . . did to cause this weird time warp?" Will asked. She folded her arms beneath the huge jacket.

"She didn't trust in us," Caleb replied bitterly.

"You and the other guardians?" Will asked biting her lip.

"Blunk too!"

"And Blunk?" Will added smiling.

"Yeah," Caleb muttered kicking a can. "Right." He ran a hand through his wet hair.

"Caleb missed Will," Blunk said solemnly. Will looked up at Caleb in surprise. His jaw was set. Her eyes rested on the scar. It made him look dangerous. Which of course he was, but only to ugly monster people who enslaved the people of Meridian.

The Caleb of her world still had an innocence about him. This one, however, did not.

"We all did," Caleb replied.

A shiver ran through Will's body. She wondered if Superman over there ever got cold? "Where'd you get this leather jacket?" Will asked. "It's nice."

"You bought it for me."

She waited for him to elaborate, which he didn't. "Does Matt still live here?" Will asked. Her eyes sparkled.

"Yeah."

"Matt's likes Hay-"

"Blunk," Caleb warned. Blunk wisely let the subject drop.

"Matt likes hay," Will repeated confused. "What does that mean?" She waited for a reply, but it was a futile effort. She sighed in defeat. "What do the girls look like now?" She asked giving up on talking about Matt.

"Like girls," Caleb replied.

"Well, you haven't changed one bit," Will muttered. "Have you and Cornelia finally got off your high horses and pronounced your undying love for each other?"

He stopped walking. She did also. He looked down at her almost as if he was angry. _What did I say?_

"Undying love is a strong choice of words," Caleb said passionately. "She dumped me ages ago and I got over it ages ago . . . and I wish you would see-"

"Caleb," Blunk warned. Caleb wisely shut his mouth. His cheeks reddened in embarrassment. It was not a fair world when Blunk had more control than he did.

"Wish I would see what?" Will asked softly. He stared down at her for a long moment.

"How beautiful Meridian is now," Caleb finished lamely.

"Oh."

"Lame!" Blunk exclaimed. He loved the new word he'd learned from Cornelia. Will couldn't help but laugh.

_I'm going to kill you later Blunk, _Caleb thought embarrassed.


	4. Voices of the Past

Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H.

Chapter 4: Voices of the Past

"Will," Yan Lin gasped in shock. This could not be true. Not one of her girls. Not one of her guardians. "How could you?"

Will Vandom grabbed a Kleenex from the box on the table. She blew her nose and grabbed another to wipe her eyes. Yan Lin waited almost impatiently for her to talk. "They wouldn't leave me alone," Will replied softly. "I wanted them to go away."

"Them," Yan Lin replied. "Who?"

"As soon as I stepped off the plane they started torturing me," Will explained her eyes pleading for Yan Lin to understand. "I couldn't get away. They were everywhere."

"Will," Yan Lin said calmly.

"Ma'am?"

"Who was torturing you?"

"Voices," Will muttered. "It was like they were in my head. They fed off all my insecurities and fears. They were right about everything and I just wanted to shut them up."

"Voices," Yan Lin replied. She looked at the young woman critically. Could Will be losing her mind? Was being the leader too much for her? _Did I force too much on her and the others?_

"I'm not crazy Mrs. Lin," Will said quickly. "I was fine until I got off the plane in Heatherfield and once I ended up in this time the voices didn't follow me." Her hands balled into fists. "Someone was trying to mess with my head."

"It sounds to me like they achieved that goal," Yan Lin replied. "What fears and insecurities did you have for them to feed on?"

"You're not going to write me off as crazy and send me to a place like the Gotham Asylum?" Will asked surprised.

"I do not believe you are crazy," Yan Lin replied. "The enemy has many ways to exploit weakness. I would not put anything pass Prince Phobos."

"We've been expecting another attack from him," Will revealed honestly. "That's one of the reasons why I came home."

"I want you to tell me everything," Yan Lin commanded. "I will try to help you overcome these feelings that has been exploited so easily."

"I'm not sure I'm supposed to tell you about what happens in the future," Will said uncertain.

"Only tell me about you," Yan Lin replied. "Tell me what happened to you."

"On this date, next year my life changes forever . . . ."

* * *

_Fifteen-year-old Will Vandom paced around her living room like a mad woman. Her life officially sucked. Her now shoulder length red hair was pulled back in a hasty ponytail. She was dressed in old pair of red sweats that time had faded an ugly dull color._

_Will and Cornelia Hale would have been the only sophomores at the school dance with seniors but her mother refused to let her go. It was so unfair. Her mom was now on a date with an older guy. Didn't that make her a hypocrite? Now she had to sit in this dumb house and wallow in self-pity._

_The dumped twins were not doing much for her attitude either. Irma Lair and Caleb sat on the couch staring off into space._

_Cornelia fell for Hay Lin's older cousin when Phobos had captured them both. Caleb had risked life and limb to rescue her and slipped in the cell just to see them locked in a passionate kiss. He led them to safety broken hearted but to proud to admit it. He'd known when Cornelia first met Lei Lin that she was entranced, but so were the older girls, minus Hay Lin, but that kiss was still a shock._

_Lei was a handsome guy of seventeen with coal black hair and intense brown eyes. Everyone at first, save Hay Lin, were put off by Lei's spoiled holier than thou behavior, no one more so than Cornelia. The two butted heads on more than one occasion. There was room for only one spoiled one in the group after all._

_Lei proved himself on many of occasions. He faced many enemies-along side a surprised Caleb-from Meridian when the girls were in situations where they were unable to go to guardian form. He'd mastered Tae Kwon Do and Chinese Kenpo and integrated both to make his own form of martial arts. He and Caleb would fight the creatures until the girls could slip away and transform._

_It all was a mess and unsurprisingly to Caleb, Cornelia left him. Lei and she were on their first outing. He could never hate Cornelia, but he was still hurt. He'd thought they would last forever. He hated the emotions he was going through. He'd thought that he would be immune to them, but being hurt was one thing he couldn't rebel from._

_Irma had finally decided to allow Martin Tubbs to date her, but stupid Martin decided he was in love with someone else. She growled just thinking about it. How dare he stop drooling over me-who knows why he drooled over me, but that's beside the point-to start mooning over Lily Moon? Life was so unfair._

"_You guys want a pizza, my treat?" Irma suggested after getting tired of staring at the wall._

"_What I want is my own place, my own space, and my own rules," Will said skidding to a stop._

"_I want to forget the time I wasted on Cornelia," Caleb muttered._

"_Okay, one with everything but peppers and anchovies," Irma said brightly. She got up and headed for the phone._

"_I don't know why I come to Earth anymore," Caleb muttered. "There's no point."_

"_Can I move to Meridian with you?" Will asked. "All you'd have to do is feed me and give me water." Before Caleb could answer, the doorbell rung echoing loudly through the house. "Hold that thought." She marched down the hall to the door._

_Caleb covertly looked over the sofa to see who it was. If it was Cornelia and Lei he was going to jump out the window and make tracks back to the restaurant. The men in uniform that Will let in alerted him._

_One of the men was saying something to her. She backed against the wall and slid to the floor. Her hands cupped her face as her body started to shake in silent sobs. He'd never seen her cry. For someone so small, she held a silent strength that Caleb admired. These men had changed that._

_Caleb vaulted over the couch and hurried to intervene. "What's happening, why is Will crying?" He asked his green eyes narrowed._

"_You have to come with us Miss Vandom," the other man said ignoring Caleb._

"_No."_

"_You're not taking her anywhere," Caleb said dangerously._

"_Miss Vandom it's procedure," the man in uniform said gently._

"_Please . . ." Don't make me do this, she silently pleaded. Caleb read her distress._

"_Get out!" Caleb commanded. "You're presence is not welcome here." He was ready to drag the two men out of the house._

"_Caleb heel!" Irma commanded. She'd finished her call and had come to see what was going on. The scene she stumbled on was somewhat scary. Will crying, her face hidden behind her hands, her hands hidden behind her raised knees, and Caleb was about to attack two cops. "What's happening?" She asked swallowing._

"_These men, they're trying to force Will to go with them," Caleb said still in a defensive stance._

"_Miss Vandom, I'm sorry we've put so much on you and so little time," one cop said sympathetically. "But you told us you were the only next of kin in this state."_

"_Next of kin?" Irma repeated blinking. The only used a term like that when-"Has something happened to Will's mother?"_

"_She's" -Will sucked in a long breath- "dead." Her voice sounded muffled. Caleb and Irma looked at each other in shocked grief._

* * *

"I am sorry Will," Yan Lin whispered. She reached over and grabbed Will's fisted hand.

"I know, thanks," Will replied. "I could not have gotten through it without you." She tried to smile. "I became a horrible friend to everyone."

"I don't believe you became horrible," Yan Lin said seriously. "When you walked in here with the others, they didn't even notice your sadness. You put their feelings above your own. That doesn't seem horrible to me."

"I just couldn't be the Will of old."

"Maybe that is why you're here," Yan Lin said gently. "To find what was lost."

"Maybe," Will said softly. "My father, who couldn't possibly take me in, signed over custody to you. I stayed with you guys sometimes, but most of the time you let me stay at my house."

"Alone?"

"Between the girls, Blunk, Lei, and Caleb I was never alone," Will replied.

"Blunk?"

"He decided he had adopted me," Will replied smiling over the memory.

"Blunk?"

"I know it sounds weird, but at one time it was Caleb, Blunk, and I against the world."

"Blunk?"

"The next summer, the girls decided to stay in Meridian with a friend," Will explained. "I did not wish to go, so I stayed on this side." She placed a lock of stray hair behind her ear. "Imagine my surprise when those two showed up on my doorstep."

* * *

_Sixteen-year-old Will padded around her kitchen in some white Elmer Fudd socks. The rest of her ensemble consisted of Elmer Fudd short shorts that were covered by a huge Elmer t-shirt. She finished making her turkey sandwich and hurried to watch her favorite TV show._

_When the opening credits started rolling, a knock sounded at her door. She sighed, placed her plate on the coffee table and, rushed to the door. "Yeah?"_

"_It's Ca-"_

"_Blunk!"_

_Cablunk, she thought. She half smiled, starting to make the process of unlocking the many locks that Yan Lin had installed. She finally got the door open._

"_Hey," Caleb said._

"_Hi Caleb," she replied surprised. "Blunk."_

"_Blunk and Caleb stay with Will?" Blunk asked._

"_Huh?"_

"_Can we come in?" Caleb asked. "Blunk kind of stands out." She silently stepped aside. The passling and the rebel rushed inside. Will closed the door behind them. "Why didn't you come to Meridian with the others?"_

"_I work now Caleb," she replied softly. Blunk spotted her sandwich._

"_Yan Lin offered to give you a couple of weeks off," Caleb reminded her. "With pay."_

"_I just . . . I didn't feel like it," she replied softly. "Besides, I promised to visit every Saturday."_

"_It would've been good for you to get away," Caleb said his hands shoved in the pockets of his pretty much demolished coat._

"_You know, you really need to replace that thing," she said ignoring his last comments._

"_Blunk and I decided to vacation here since you decided to stay."_

"_Why?" Will asked. "Still trying to make yourself invisible to Cornelia and Lei?"_

"_No-" Will gave him a look. "Well yeah . . . but that's not the only reason I'm here."_

"_Okay, what are the other minor reasons?"_

"_Caleb didn't want Will to be alone," Blunk yelled his mouth full of Will's sandwich. "So Blunk ask Caleb to come here with him."_

"_What he said," Caleb replied._

"_How long do you foresee this visit lasting?" Will asked watching Blunk plop his stank body on the couch. I just had it cleaned, she thought grimacing._

"_Summer and as long as I'm not needed in Meridian."_

"_Caleb you're going to die of boredom here," Will declared. "There are no dragon slash monkey slash rat slash donkey creatures here for you to slay."_

"_I'll take my chances." His mouth raised into a slow grin._

_Will found herself making sandwiches for them all. She carried the plate back to the den. Caleb and Blunk stared at the television in an almost a trance like state._

_What could those two possibly be watching to have them so involved? She thought sitting the food on the table. She looked at the television. Barney! She quickly grabbed the remote as Caleb and Blunk dove for the sandwiches._

_Will took to watching some of Mrs. Vandom's favorite shows. Golden Girls was on. She put down the remote and grabbed a sandwich._

_All and all, despite the surprise arrival of Caleb and stinky Blunk, she was having a good day. She hated being alone and with her friends being in Meridian, she was looking at a lot of alone time._

_When she was alone, thoughts about her Mother's car accident crept in. Guilt engulfed her because of the last words she'd ever spoken to her mother. "I hate you!" The look on Mrs. Vandom's face when she snapped those words would never be forgotten by the teen._

_I didn't mean it, she thought in horror. Her eyes started filling with tears. She stood quickly, startling both Caleb and Blunk. "I forgot the drinks," she said brightly. She rushed for the kitchen. She stopped in front of the sink. A few big tears escaped, trickled down her face, and landed in the sink. Don't cry Will, she ordered herself._

"_Will."_

_Drat, Caleb had followed her. "What's up Caleb?" She asked as if nothing in the world was wrong. She did not turn around._

"_You don't have to be the big tough leader with me," he said softly. She gasped but still refused to face him "You can yell, cry, whatever just don't hold it in anymore."_

"_Hold what in?" She asked._

"_Whatever it is that you've yet to tell us about that night," he replied gently. "I won't think any less of you. I respect you more than you'll ever know."_

"_Why don't you get the glasses?" She suggested brightly. She turned to face him. Her eyes betrayed her cheerful façade. "I'll get the juice."_

"_There's no need," he replied. "I'm not thirsty and Blunk just went to take a drink out of the toilet bowl."_

"_Eww," she muttered._

"_Tell me," he commanded gently._

"_You don't care," she said suddenly._

"_I do."_

"_What possible reason would Caleb the Great have to care about Will the Freak's problems?" She asked._

"_You're important to me," he replied. "I care about you." He walked forward and grabbed her fingers. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't."_

"_You're hiding from Cornelia," she reminded him looking down at her socks._

"_Willow." The quickest way to get a Rock Bottom from Will was to call her that, but for some reason her name coming from his lips didn't cause blind rage._

"_I told her I hate her, alright," she blurted suddenly._

"_Your mother?"_

"_Yes, because she would not let me go to that stupid dance with that damn senior!" Will shouted. "I hate you was the last words from her "beloved" daughter that she heard!"_

"_Will-"_

"_I'm a horrible person," she exclaimed. "She didn't even have the comfort of thinking of me when she was- and if she did my last words sure were a comfort; not!" Caleb pulled her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her. He held her loosely. Not sure how she would react._

"_Mothers know the dramatics of teenage redheads," he said softly. "She knows you didn't mean it."_

"_I was cruel," she whispered letting her tears fall. He held her tighter._

"_I'm sorry Will," he whispered back. He ran his fingers through her hair._

"_If I could just take it back-"_

"_You have," Caleb replied. "She knew how you really felt about her."_

"_I wish I could've said I'm sorry," she whispered to his chest. He felt more than heard the words._

"_Trust me, she knew you were sorry the moment you realized what you shouted in petty anger," he said softly. "You are a storm of emotions. You may not have said it with your mouth, but you said it with your eyes."_

_She clung to him like a life preserver. "Thank you Caleb."

* * *

  
_

**A/N:**I went back and fixed some of the errors I've made. I don't know when my next update will be but it's coming. I hope you enjoy this chapter.


	5. The Jacket

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies.

Chapter 5: The Jacket

Caleb wished he could take her home. That location is where W.I.T.C.H. now had their meetings. Will was a smart girl, if he took her home questions would surface. Questions with answers he knew she would not be able to handle.

"Blunk, why do you think she-older I-jumped off the bridge?" Will asked. She'd decided it was best to direct her questions to him. Caleb was acting like he was on some top secret James Bond mission.

"Anti-Muses," Blunk replied seriously.

"Anti-Muses," Caleb and Will repeated thoughtfully.

"Very suggestive creatures," Blunk said in remorse.

"You could've mentioned that earlier Blunk," Caleb said glaring at him. "Did you see them around her?"

"No but Blunk know they were there," he said seriously. "Will not hurt herself on her own."

"What are Anti-Muses?" Will asked turning on her heels to face Caleb.

"Creatures that get into their victim's mind," Caleb replied. "They feed off their weakness tormenting the victim until the poor soul would do anything to escape them." He shook his head. "They have no name. Hay Lin is the one who coined them as Anti-Muses."

"But I could have killed myself," Will said incredulously. "How could I let them trick me so?"

"Once they get a hold of a victim, it's not much the victim can do," Caleb said. "No one can escape them, but it seems like you did." He grinned at her. She didn't willingly try to hurt herself. _I only wish I could've gotten to her before they forced her to._

So he knows how to smile. It was that cocky half-grin the Caleb she knew sometimes graced them with when he was telling them about his battles as rebel leader. "Okay, this sounds like an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Charmed," she decided nodding.

"Blunk go to Meridian and get Irma," Caleb commanded. "Make sure the princess and prince know of these new developments."

"Okay, bye Will," Blunk said grinning. He rushed to sniff out a new portal.

"The princess has been found?" Will asked excited. "Who is it?"

"I'll let her tell you," he replied. "If she deems it safe for you to know."

Will's spirits rose significantly. If she could learn the identity of the lost princess than maybe they could head off Phobos's sinister plans for her.

Ten minutes later, she was safely in the restaurant sporting one of Caleb's t-shirts and wrapped in a huge blanket. Caleb had changed into some dry clothes. They sat waiting for the Guardians to show up. Once Blunk raised the alarm they would come running.

"Where's Mrs. Lin?" Will asked softly. "She should be here. She's always here."

"She's, um, she's under the weather," Caleb replied not quite meeting her eyes.

"What do you mean under the weather?" Will asked fearfully. "I-I mean is she okay?"

"I hope so Will," he replied honestly. "I hope so."

* * *

"After these events your relationship with Caleb changed?" Yan Lin prompted.

"He's a kindred spirit," Will replied. "I found someone that I could make fun of my bad decisions with and he could do the same." She sighed. "We held the fate of Meridian in our hands but only we knew when those symbolic hands shook with fear or hesitation."

"Or grief?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Love?"

"Funny you should say that," Will said sighing.

I assumed as much, Yan Lin thought her brown eyes shining. "Why?"

"He began to illusion himself in love with me," she said tragically.

"An illusion?"

"It was obviously in his head," she declared.

"Obviously," Yan Lin agreed.

"You're making fun of me aren't you?" Will asked suspiciously.

"Of course not Will," Yan Lin replied her brown eyes sparkling. "We all are well acquainted with Caleb and his Pepé Le Pew outlook on life." Startled red eyes met amused brown ones. Will laughed softly surprising them both.

"When you put it that way . . . ."

* * *

_It was the month of July. Will rushed home from the mall. She had a huge package in her arms that she wanted to sneak passed Caleb and Blunk. If her luck held out, they were still in Meridian for the day. Luck ran away from her when Caleb opened the door before she could get her keys out of her pocket._

"_Hey," he said rubbing the back of his head with his hand. She stared, surprised he was back. Caleb was wearing blue jeans and a green t-shirt that matched his eyes._

"_Hi Caleb," she replied inwardly groaning. "What are you doing back so soon?" she asked surprised._

"_There wasn't anything going on so I came back here," he replied. "The girls send their . . . love." He acted as if the word left a bitter taste in his mouth._

"_From your expression they sent a few kicks in the groin as well," she replied sarcastically._

"_Might as well have," Caleb replied smirking. "Guys don't send messages of . . . love."_

"_You haven't heard of Cupid yet have ya?"_

"_What's that?" He asked his attention now on her package._

"_Nothing," she replied quickly. She tried to hide the somewhat large package behind her back, failing miserably at the task._

"_Oh," he replied. "I'll just take the box of "nothing" and-"_

"_No, no," she replied quickly. "I got it."_

"_Okay," he said confused._

"_There's a few bags of groceries in the car you can get, since you want some manual labor so badly," she said winking._

"_I have to keep in shape," he said jokingly. He headed for the car and she went inside. Before she got over the threshold, Blunk's arms reached out and grabbed the package from her. He rushed off laughing._

"_Blunk!" she shouted. She rushed after him._

_Caleb returned to see Will and Blunk having a tug-of-war over the package. He put the bags on the floor, watching them amused. "This is not for you it's for Caleb!" She shouted. They seemed to notice him at the same time. "Can we kick him out on the street?" She addressed her question to Caleb. He used his right to remain silent._

"_No!" Blunk exclaimed in horror. He let go of the package._

"_Rule of the house, don't take things away from the owner," Will said glaring a Blunk. "It is the quickest way to get kicked out."_

"_Blunk take bath!" He declared grinning._

"_Yeah right," Will muttered._

"_He did actually," Caleb revealed. "You didn't notice the clean air when you entered?"_

"_No I was busy." She sniffed suspiciously. She'd learned to breath through her mouth during the summer. There was no other way to live on the same planet as Blunk. The room actually smelled of the dozens of air fresheners she bought to combat Blunk. "Thank you Blunk," she said gratefully. "Thank you."_

"_It took hours to bathe him," Caleb revealed honestly. "You might not be so thankful after you see the state of the bathroom."_

"_How did you talk him into it?" she asked in shock._

"_I told him if he didn't bathe regularly for now on you'd kick him out and he'd have no where to watch television."_

"_Oh, blackmail."_

"_Blunk like it here."_

"_Remember that," she warned him._

"_That's for me?" Caleb asked suddenly._

"_Yeah," she replied knowing it would be futile to lie. "It was on sale and when I saw it I thought of you." She sat down on the couch with the box in her lap._

_He walked around the couch and sat on the coffee table facing her. "What possessed you to buy me something?" He asked curiously. He gently nudged the end of her shoe with his._

"_Because your old one should've been junk pile material months ago," she replied honestly._

"_A new passling?" He asked grinning. She smiled back shaking her head._

"_No!" Blunk wailed not seeing Will's denial._

"_Here," she said passing the gift to him. "It was supposed to be a Christmas gift, but I figure since Blunk has set his sights on it, he will open it months before Christmas arrives."_

"_Blunk so resents that accusation," he said frowning. He folded his arms and looked away in an overly dramatic huff._

"_Cornelia dramatics," Will pointed out smiling. Caleb nodded his agreement. He started trying to untie the bow. Will knew it would take forever. The bow was a mission impossible. She witnessed the saleslady making it. She reached over, put her finger under the ribbon and pulled up gently. It broke easily. "It's not Pandora's Box."_

_His green eyes looked into hers. He smirked and then pulled off the top of the box. He pulled the dark brown leather jacket out of the box. He held it out and looked at it in curious surprise. Will stood so she could see his reaction over the jacket. "Do you like it?"_

"_Yes," he replied thoughtfully. "Are you sure this is for me?"_

"_Yeah, try it on," she commanded. He put it on quickly. She smiled. She sat back down on the couch, so she could fix the collar. "You look great." She put the empty gift box on the floor. She grabbed the zipper. "I thought of you the minute" -her words faltered as she got the zipper going- "I saw it. I bought it a couple of sizes too big so you can grow into it instead of out of it." She looked back up at him after she studied the jacket a few moments._

_She was surprised to note that he was already studying her and had been doing so for some time. He looked as if he was trying to read her or understand her. Flustered she asked, "So, did some point with me walking in the house did your tongue go on strike?" She sat back, folding her arms in an attempt to create more space between._

"_Why would you waste money on me?" he asked._

"_Waste money," she repeated frowning._

"_I didn't mean that the way it sounded," he said quickly. "My old coat is fine, you should keep your money for yourself."_

"_Caleb, your old coat is falling apart," she pointed out. "You've also out grown it. It's so tight on your arms I don't see how you breathe."_

"_I could've had it refitted in Meridian for free."_

"_You don't like it, do you?"_

"_Yes I do," he assured her. "I know you're saving for school or whatever. I feel guilty that you spent your money on me."_

"_It was on sale," she reminded him. "It's my money I can spend it on whoever I want."_

"_But-"_

"_And who says I'm even going to college?" Will asked. "I hate school and "higher" education is paid for out of pocket. If I didn't have to go to grade school, they could not pay me to go. What do I look like paying to go somewhere I despise?"_

"_You're not going to college?"_

"_I don't know," Will declared. "Maybe I'll move to Meridian and become a hermit."_

"_Or you could stay with me," Caleb offered one side of his lips upturning in amusement._

"_Yeah right."_

"_I'm serious," he said. "Staying with you this summer has been interesting."_

"_I really didn't think you could hold out this long," she admitted honestly. "I betted the others that you'd leave by the first month."_

"_I like living with you."_

"_Am I as scary up close and personal than I am in passing?" She asked jokingly. She sat up to goad the answer out of him. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers._

"_I'd say you're much scarier," he replied. "Thank you for the new jacket."_

"_It's the least I can do," Will replied closing her eyes. "You've been great. I could not have gotten through this summer without you." He kissed the tip of her nose. Her eyes opened in surprise. She stood, breaking all contact. "What was that for?"_

"_The new coat," he replied. "Should you start dinner or should I? Either way it won't be pretty."_

"_Hey," Will said frowning. "I'm getting better at it."_

"_Caleb is the one getting worse at cooking," Blunk blurted. Caleb glared at him._

"_I'll make it," Will said grateful for the reason to escape. She hurried to get the bags Caleb brought in and rushed in the kitchen._

"_Hot lips," Blunk teased grinning._

"_Where'd you hear that," Caleb asked taking off the jacket._

"_Cornelia."_

"_Why is she the only one you pick up your slang from?" Caleb asked._

"_She's cool," Blunk said in awe of the blonde. "Caleb like Will now?"_

"_I've always liked Will," Caleb said frowning. "She needs someone around who's not the guardians. Someone who she doesn't think feels obligated to be with her because she's the leader of the group. She's a good person. I don't want to see her bury herself in an emotional hole that no one can get in."_

_Most of what Caleb said went right over Blunk's head, but he understood some of it._

"_The girl who was once the keeper of the Heart was corrupted by its power," Caleb revealed. "I won't let that happen to Will. I'm not going to let her alienate herself or depend on the Heart to get her through the pain."_

"_Blunk help."_

* * *

Blunk rushed in the throne room. Queen Elyon Brown and all the other guardians were inside. The elusive prince was nowhere to be seen.

"We got big problems!" Blunk shouted running to Elyon.

"I'm aware of the situation," Elyon replied. "I called the guardians here because of it."

The prince entered the throne room at that moment. "Are you aware little sister that this is my evil half's plan?" He asked. "That since we are no longer at full power he will use this hour to crush us."

In order to defeat Elyon, Phobos went on a quest for the staff of Malin. It was made from the bones of a long dead evil sorcerer. When the power fused with him, the prince who stood before them was created to help Elyon stop Phobos. He was Prince Phobos from another time and place.

Prince Phobos was connected with the evil one of this world. The prince felt all of his evil thoughts and desires. The good prince at first was struck down with the evil radiating from the other one. He'd just stayed in his room balled up in a ball, staring into nothingness, trying to escape the visions of evil.

Irma Lair was determined to break him from his affliction. She sometimes sat in his room and just talked to him. He never said a word, but Irma's determination eventually broke through his defenses. He came to depend on her jokes and voice.

He was now ready to do the job he was created to do, to protect his sister and Meridian.

"I have faith that we will still defeat him," Elyon replied. "Will still is the guardian of energy. Even if she hasn't unlocked all her powers yet."

"We need our Will," Cornelia Hale spoke up.

"She is our Will," Hay Lin declared frowning.

"She means the one who can throw energy bolts powerful enough to send an army running for their Mamas," Irma declared.

"We can still do this," Taranee Cook declared. "We still have our powers, the royal guard, and the rebels."

"Bring Will and Caleb to me," Elyon commanded the guardians. "And please don't freak her out to much."

* * *

A/N: Sorry for taking so long with this update. I've been busy. Oh yeah, I'm very familiar with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I learned Will's name from The Puppeteer. Thank you again for that piece of info.


	6. The Guardians Arrive

Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H.

Chapter 6: The Guardians Arrive

_Could this get any more complicated? _Caleb thought looking at Will Vandom as she looked around his room trying to find stuff she recognized, mainly doing so to distract herself from the news about Yan Lin. She was already building walls around herself.

He rubbed his hand down his scar. Was his Will okay? Did the young guardians find her and take her in. His only hope was Blunk. Blunk was there when Will fell and during the exchange. Maybe seeing him had snapped back her senses.

If only he could have followed her. He would follow her into the pit of Hades if necessary. She should be here with me, going over strategies of defeating Phobos and his mystical army.

"Why are you acting so weird?" he looked up surprised at her question. She'd abandoned her quest, now looking at him, her eyes wide.

"I'm acting how I always act," he replied lamely.

"From what I know of you, you'd be bragging about the battle you received that scar in," she said honestly. "So far, you've been evasive and rude." She folded her arms. "Why?"

He found himself in defensive mode against a young teen almost half his size. She looked even younger wrapped in that blanket. "This is a new experience for me," he replied honestly. "I don't know exactly how to handle this situation."

"You could stop acting like you're on a spy mission," Will pointed out.

"There are certain things that you can't know about yet. It could change things that's already happened here for the worst," he replied sitting back resting his hand on the back of his head, his elbows spread wide. "I don't know what to say and what not to."

"I guess I can understand that," she reluctantly sighed. "I'm really curious about that scar though. It looks like that hurt." _What am I saying? Of course it hurt, _she thought silently making fun of herself.

"I got this little memento in one of the wars for Meridian," he replied. "One of the worst wars ever fought there." He left it at that. She'll be there to witness first hand him being struck down. Her anguished scream rallied all the guardians together, who were scattered on different parts of the battlefield. They all surrounded him and did a combined attack that wiped out the enemy army in one fatal swoop.

"We haven't achieved peace yet?" Will asked disheartened. _Four years have passed, and yet we still fight? Will Meridian ever be free?_

"Yes we have, but we must fight to keep that peace," Caleb said. "There are forces who have their own idea of a society that isn't right and is unjust. The ones who only want to enslave and terrorize our people. Our peaceful times are an abomination to them. Fighting and peace should not be in the same sentence, but until evil is wiped out completely they'll always be hand and hand."

"Where there is good, evil is always right behind it to stomp on the happy parade," Will said sarcastically. "Is there still need for the rebels?"

"The rebels split apart," Caleb explained softly. "Some of us became the royal guard, the others went back to being just regular people, who when called by the princess always stands with the royal guard as one to combat our enemies."

"I bet I can guess who the captain of the guard is," Will declared smirking.

"Who?" he asked amused.

"You, who else," she replied.

"Wrong, Aldarn holds that honor," Caleb replied. "I am only a former rebel leader who occasionally gives council to the princess." He smiled lost in his own thoughts. "I help my parents run our family business."

_Caleb,_ she thought in shock. _Did the princess not see what a great fighter and leader he was? How could she overlook him?_ She had no ill feelings toward Aldarn, he was a great guy, but Caleb earned the right to be the captain. _He's so humble now. _She was quite sure the young Caleb would be sulking, but this Caleb was proud of his friend and content with the princess's choice. Well, she intended to tell the princess exactly what she thought of her decision. If he wasn't going to, Will had no qualms about-

"Before you go all Xena on the princess you should know that I made the choice not to be captain," he said sensing her thoughts. "I'm tired Willow. Under the circumstances, Aldarn was the best choice." He was content with spending his life coming to Aldarn's aid when requested, training with the disbanded rebels on the days they found themselves able to do so, and loving Will.

"First off, if you call me Willow again . . . I'll go Super Saiyan on you," she threatened her eyes flashing dangerously. She'd beaten up a many of idiots who'd dared to call her that.

"I missed you," he said honestly.

"What?" she asked flabbergasted. _What part of threat against your life didn't you understand?_

"You'd been gone a year," he revealed. "We were about to reunite when everything went wrong."

"Us?" she asked incredulously . Did he mean him and her, or him, her, and the guardians?

"Yes, us," he replied. "I hate that it took a war for you to come home."

"Where was I?" she asked softly. "Why did I leave?"

"Your grandmother was ill so you went to help take care of her," Caleb replied. _I understand that,_ he thought. _What I don't understand is why you stayed there after there was no reason. Why didn't you come home? It made me believe Cornelia words. That you had run from me and run from what we had._

Cornelia had this feeling that Will used her as an excuse to run away from him. Will had said to him that she was afraid she would lose one of her best friends if she knew that Caleb loved her.

When confronted by Caleb, Cornelia calmly pointed out that she never would throw away her relationship with Will for anything in the world. She loved Lei and would never do anything to make him doubt that. She loved Will and if being with Caleb made her happy, when precious little made Will happy, than she was fine. She also threatened to bury him if he betrayed Will.

Mrs. Vandom's death had matured them all, Cornelia and Will more so than the others. That is, after Cornelia stopped acting like a possessive mother french hen and just started being Will's best friend.

"So my Mother stayed in Texas with my grandmother?" Will asked thoughtfully.

"They're together," he replied simply.

"Good," she replied.

A sound knock came from the door. Caleb stood; walking to it, he opened it cautiously. "Girls," he said in relief. At his words, Will rushed to the door, standing behind him. She leaned over and looked under his arm at her friends.

Cornelia Hale was obviously the one that knocked. The eighteen-year-old blonde was quite stunning. She stood at a surprising height of six foot tall. Her thick blonde her reached down to her lower calves. Her wide blue eyes shone knowingly as they found Will. In a blue sundress, that matched her eyes, she looked like a princess from some lost fairy tail. "Will," she said softly.

"Corni," Will said in a whisper. Her eyes went to Irma, who stood beside Cornelia.

Irma Lair's bow mouth was upturned in a smirk of a smile. The seventeen-year-old pretty prankster stood five feet, seven inches tall. Mischief and happiness, dancing in blue eyes, hidden behind a pair of classy shades. Strands of her brown curly hair, cut just a little passed her chin, curled forward to frame her face. She had own a white t-shirt and blue jeans. "You know Will, normal people grow, leave it to you to shrink," she said grinning.

"Irma," Will said rolling her eyes heavenward.

Taranee Cook stood next to Irma. Her brown eyes shook with emotion as she stared at Will, behind her frameless glasses. Her woolly brown hair was pulled back in a hasty ponytail. She was shorter than Cornelia and Irma, standing at five foot and four inches. She wore a blue jogging suit. Her thrown together appearance took nothing away from the seventeen-year-old girl's beauty. "Hello Will," Taranee said.

"Taranee," Will said in greeting.

"Will!" Last but certainly not least, Will's eyes fell on Hay Lin. The seventeen-year-old, petite girl, smiled bravely at Will. She was five feet, two inches tall. She wore pink shorts with a white tank top. Her light brown eyes that once danced with never ending energy and happiness looked lost.

Remembering what Caleb said about Yan Lin, Will ducked under his arm rushed forward and hugged her. "She'll be alright." Tears threatening, Hay Lin closed her eyes and hugged Will back. The other guardians quickly joined in.

Caleb watched them, the left side of his mouth curving into a smile. They were together again. He couldn't help thinking about the Will they'd lost. _Will, please come back here safely . . . ._

* * *

"I didn't know exactly how Cornelia feels about my growing relationship with Caleb," Will revealed after taking a sip of hot tea. "I still don't know."

"After all this time?" Yan Lin asked surprised.

"Yes, you see my grandmother, who lived in Texas, got ill," Will replied. "She wanted to spend the time she had left with me, I wanted that too, so I went. That's where I've been for the past year."

"I never confirmed just how Cornelia felt about Caleb and I," Will revealed. "I was kind of hoping that he'd realized in my absence, that I'm to messed up for anyone to love so I wouldn't have to have that conversation with Cornelia at all."

"Your guilt about your mother and your impending "battle" with Cornelia is what they used to bait you," Yan Lin guessed. _They also seemed to have played on your doubts about love and your ability to be loved._

"Among other things," Will replied. _To top off this lovely tale, I think someone human is trying to kill me._ Will decided to leave that book on the shelf. Her father would take care of that. His job may have prevented him from ever being in her life as a child, but that didn't mean he did not love her. He would protect her with his own life, if it came to that. The voices tried to tell her that her father didn't care about her, but on that front they failed.

* * *

After the reunion, the girls and Caleb stood in the back room of the Silver Dragon. Will and Caleb were getting the news of the impending battle. "Phobos's army is on the move," Taranee revealed. "The princess requests audience with both you and Will."

"I should've known he would capitalize on this," Caleb muttered his hands balling into fists.

"So, I get to see the princess?" Will asked cautiously.

"Yes, I wish it was under better circumstances though," Hay Lin said sadly.

"Maybe it's better this way," Cornelia declared. "A lot of bad stuff that happened to her can now be prevented."

"Who is it?" Will asked, her anticipation written all over her face.

"Well, we all know and love her as little Elyon Brown," Irma replied smirking.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm sorry for the wait. Look for the intro of Lei Lin and Matt soon. They have fallen into the hands of evil and don't think the Earth and Air Guardians will take that revelation lightly. Will the two Phobos share the same fate? Can Yan Lin figure out a way to get Will back to her time before the battle call? Will Caleb allow young Will to even consider fighting in the battle? Find out in upcoming chapters . . . .


	7. A Future Uncertain

Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H. or the characters on the show. Disney holds that title.

Chapter 7: A Future Uncertain

"The girl survived her death scene," Phobos muttered. _I should have foreseen this. The Guardians are like roaches,_ he thought. How he despised them.

"How do you know sire?" his first mindless drone asked.

"Cedric saw her in the past," Phobos replied. "He told me about it this very day all those years ago." On that day, Phobos was much too angry to understand or care about the significance Cedric's excuse. The plan to get rid of the Guardians was flawless. Yet, Cedric failed.

His loyal servant Cedric was deceased. Killed by the guardian of fire. Phobos sucked in an angry breath, through clenched teeth. The people of Meridian would pay for Cedric's death.

Annoyingly, he greatly noticed the nitwit's absence. Phobos certainly didn't want or need a friend, but when Cedric died it felt as if he'd lost one. Cedric had been by his side since the time he was a boy.

"What can we do?" The other mindless drone inquired.

"_I_ will send you two back to the past to finish the job," Phobos replied. "She will return to her Guardian friends dead."

Lei Lin's skills in combat and Matt Olsen's skill with a bow would be a deadly combination. It did not hurt that they were friends of the Guardian of Energy. She would be holding back, trying to reach out to them. The puppets would only be doing his bidding.

Phobos grinned evilly. Everything was falling into place. His revenge would be swift and painful. Even if that inferior sister of his kept her position of power in Meridian, her victory would be bitter sweet with the death of Will Vandom. He gave the call for his army to march toward Meridian.

* * *

Will could admit that she was an awe of Meridian. She didn't get a chance to see much of it, but what she saw, amazed her. The place once braced in fear and darkness was now beautiful and vibrant. What was once murky swampland was a beautiful lake welcoming visitors to the enchanted city.

They'd come through a portal near that clear lake. Standing guard in front of the lake was a large statue of the Guardian of Water, Irma. When they entered the garden, Will saw that a statue of the Guardian of Earth, Cornelia, guarded it.

"It's like a dream world," Will said softly.

"Dream worlds need to be protected from nightmares," Taranee replied softly. "We can't let Phobos destroy all this again."

"We won't," Caleb replied.

When they entered the castle, with Caleb leading the way, Cornelia could not help but proudly point out that she and Elyon redecorated it. Truth could be seen in her words, as it looked like a Princess Power Hour Club had held the castle hostage and took no prisoners.

Hay Lin smiled as she knew what was running through Will's mind as they made their way to the to the Throne Room. _"Oh my god, I'm picking up the castles distress. It's wailing, Where's Phobos?"_ She'd whispered that hilarious phrase to Hay Lin two years ago as they traveled through "The Pink Room."

"I must admit, I do not know what you two were smoking when you came up with color themed rooms," Irma declared walking ahead of the other girls. She didn't see the glare Cornelia bore into her back.

"Oh, Irma's going to pay for that one," Taranee whispered to Will. The two eyed the tall blonde, suspiciously. "Those two constantly rip each other to shreds verbally but still manage to be best friends." They both jumped when Cornelia turned to them. She smiled sweetly at Will.

"Guess what, there's a good and an evil Phobos now," she revealed walking backwards. "The good one stays here with Elyon." Taranee shook her head as she saw Irma stiffen.

"How did that happen?" Will asked surprised.

"That's not important," Cornelia declared. "The shocker of this little lesson is he actually has a crush on Irma. I thought the world would spin off its axis when I heard about this."

"Cornelia," Irma warned blushing.

"It's like Fiona choosing Shrek over Prince Charming bad," Cornelia went on winking at them. She turned back around her arms folded smugly.

"Did I fail to mention how much I dislike you today, Cornelia?" Irma asked bitterly.

"I think you've told me two times already," Cornelia replied eyes shinning in victory.

"Don't worry, Irma will get her back," Hay Lin whispered in her other ear. "The circle never ends."

"Oh joy," Will muttered. She had to admit Cornelia's little jibe was funny. Only Cornelia would see Fiona choosing fat, ugly Shrek over the spoiled, handsome prince a bad thing.

"Who knows why he chose me to like, but he does," Irma said seriously. She stopped walking and turned to face her friends. They stopped walking also. "I'm just glad he's showing emotions and not cowering in his room over the evilness that is his other half."

"Irma, he likes you because you were able to reach him when no one else could," Cornelia said passionately. "He would be a fool not to see how great you are." No one dogged her friends while she was around. Well, except her.

Irma smirked. "You compared me to Shrek," she said. She laughed realizing the comedy in Cornelia's statement.

"Only Irma would laugh at being compared to the un-hotness that is Shrek," Will muttered shaking her head. Taranee and Hay Lin giggled.

Hay Lin was so happy to have Will home. It didn't matter to her that she was a younger version of Will. Her presence meant victory, or at least a lesser chance of defeat. She'd seen Yan Lin's hospitalization as a bad omen. Happiness over Will's return overshadowed her doubts.

"Girls, I don't think it's wise to keep Queen Elyon waiting," Caleb grumbled. He'd noticed they weren't following him anymore. He continued toward the throne room. _What a mess. She should not be seeing any of this yet._

The girls were getting on his nerves. They were happily given her the grand tour, acting like nothing was horribly wrong. _Don't they realize how bleak this situation is becoming?_

"Can any of you tell me what his problem is?" Will asked. "He's changed . . . ."

"He's nineteen Will," Taranee replied. "He's not the boy he once was."

"You guys are basically still the same personality wise," Will replied. "He's all broody, moody, and secretive."

"He blames himself for what happened to you," Cornelia said honestly. "He was the one set to meet you at the airport today. You had to miss each other by mere seconds."

"How could he have stopped them from attacking me?" Will asked. "From what Blunk said about the Anti-Muses, I was already a goner."

"Don't say that," Taranee said quickly. "You are fine, she is fine."

"Wherever she is," Irma whispered.

* * *

_He watched her as she worked on her homework. Her lips and eyebrows frowned in concentration; her face partly veiled by her red hair. Hair that used to barely reach her chin now, grew well past her shoulders._

_She didn't realize he was awake. He had no intention of making that little detail a reality yet. Besides, it hurt too much to do anything but watch her. His mouth uplifted when her face lit with a smile. She started writing in her notebook. Both actions, signals that she had figured out a problem._

_His small smile turned to a full-fledged grin when, she made a face throwing her pencil in fury. It hit the wall and landed on the floor near the desk. That moved signaled that the answer she figured out earlier was wrong. Ah, math homework, he thought._

_She must be bored, but yet she stays. As if her leaving would signal death to knock on his door. I'm over the worst, he said silently. You don't have to worry anymore. My body will heal. My face will heal. But will you Willow?_

_During the days of him being in grips of the fever, through his delirium, he sensed her presence often. He wasn't about to give up the ghost when she was so near._

_Will was about to attack her notebook when she noticed he was awake. Her scowl transformed into a bright smile. "Caleb." She stood up and hurriedly pulled her chair to the side of the bed._

"_You should be in Heatherfield," he said grimacing as his words caused his head to pound like a drum._

"_Are you in pain?" she asked in concern, effectively ignoring his words. "I smuggled you some Tylenol from our side."_

"_You'll fall behind in school," he said in a dictating tone._

"_No I won't," she declared. "I created another Astro Drop. She goes to school in my stead and brings my homework to me. I study the notes and do the homework."_

"_Attempt to do the homework," he said, wanting to smirk but the drum in his head would not allow him that taunt._

_She was too happy to be cross with him. He was more coherent, than the previous day. He also wasn't throwing up, which seemed to be his favorite past time when the fever had a hold of him. "Do you want the Tylenol or is pain the way you get off these days?"_

"_Yes," he said closing his eyes. "Talking makes my head hurt."_

"_Don't talk," she commanded. She got out of her chair and rushed to the desk. She picked up a pink pitcher, obviously an item of hers, and filled his favorite wooden goblet with water. She fished the medicine out of her book bag that was also on the large desk. She opened the bottle and fished out two pills._

_She hurried back to his left side and placed the Tylenol in his left hand first. His right was encased in a makeshift sling. He'd been shot with an arrow through his right shoulder. When he swallowed them she helped him wash them down with the water._

"_You know usually when someone swings in object at your face, you dodge," she said. In reference to the bandage covering the wound on his face. He coughed, choking on his retort as she made him drink all the water. "I warned you about how much you've taken on. Now look what has happened." She fought back tears as she almost snatched the empty cup from him._

"_I'm sorry . . . I worried you," he said in reply, through his coughing fit._

"_I wasn't worried," she lied quickly. She seemed to notice him coughing at that moment. "What's the matter?" she asked concerned._

"_You just tried . . . t-to drown me."_

"_I did not," she said insulted. "Not intentionally anyway." He glared at her with those green eyes, that some nights she thought she would never see again. "You have to be more careful Caleb. I can't lose anyone else that I care about."_

_The look in his eyes gentled. "I'm still here," he replied. "I refused to let death take me a way from you." Not when you stayed by my side through all this._

"_It's just like you to be thinking about someone other than yourself in your time of need," she said breathlessly. Embarrassingly, her heart started beating loudly._

"_I can't help it," he replied honestly. "These days Will, you are all I think about." She closed her eyes; she stiffened in surprise when his hand cupped her face. Instead of pulling away, she grabbed it with her hands and held on for dear life._

* * *

"Where is she?" Hay Lin asked Yan Lin quickly. They swarmed her as soon as she came out of the backroom. The hungry of Heatherfield were forsaken over the powerful lure of being nosey.

"I asked her to rest on the cot," Yan Lin replied sighing. "She's resting there, as we speak." She looked guiltily at Caleb. "Caleb I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not," he replied. "What did she say?"

"I will not break her confidence," Yan Lin replied. "Will is a very troubled young woman." She sighed and shook her head in sorrow. "There is a war about to happen in the Meridian of her time. The way she is now, I think the Will from our time is the one best suited to lead the guardians into battle."

"She could be killed," Caleb said frowning. "If she dies, the Will in there won't even exist!"

"Keep your voice down," Cornelia commanded calmly. They all were starting to get stares. _Really, Caleb doesn't have any home training._ She intended to change that.

"Will isn't strong enough to lead an army," Caleb whispered. "We have to find away to send the one that is back."

"We are working on that," Yan Lin replied softly. "If I can help her get a hold on reality again. I am sure things will be reversed."

"So there is something wrong with her?" Taranee asked unhappily. "She seemed fine when she was with us earlier."

"She did not wish for any of you to sense anything out of the ordinary," Yan Lin replied. "I do not know if I was able to make her realize that all the negative thoughts she has is a trick of the new threat the guardians faces from Phobos."

"Wait a second," Hay Lin said frowning, "he's still in power after all this time?" _That is so lame!_

"Willow could not tell me if we ever defeat Phobos, or the identity of the Princess," Yan Lin replied slowly. "It may change outcomes in the future for the worst." Yan Lin saw the wisdom in Will's decision. What if Phobos had spies, feigning to be customers, listening to them?

She studied the clientèle with a critical eye. No one seemed interested in her conversation with the kids. Some were eating, some chatted over tea, and a few others waited for their meal to be brought to them. None of them seemed menacing, but looks could be deceiving.

"Mrs. Lin, did you two figure out how to reverse this?" Taranee asked anxiously.

"The answer lies within Will," Yan Lin replied softly. "I believe the Heart of Kandrakar created this time warp, she just has to understand how to un-create it."

* * *

After resting on Caleb's cot for all of ten minutes, Will was up putting on a mini Qipao, Yan Lin left for her. The elegant Lycra cotton dress was white, with purple butterflies decorating it.

She put on her wet black tennis shoes, not caring that the shoes didn't go with the dress. She combed her hand through her still damp hair, hastily braiding it after she was sure all the tangles were gone. She slung the braid over her right shoulder, borrowed Caleb's jacket, and was ready to hit the road.

Resting on the cot was a mistake. It had his scent and it lured her to think about him. She'd thought about those dark days when he was hurt. She'd never fully recovered from the scare of that night.

The scare that he almost died. The scare that it was obvious he loved her. The scare that she might love him in return.

Before leaving she found a pen and paper and wrote a note to Yan Lin, revealing that she was heading back to the bridge. She stressed that she wouldn't do anything crazy like jump off it or anything. She only wanted to find clues that would ultimately send her back home to the future.

She walked out the door, closing it firmly behind her. Instead of taking back alleys, she opted to walk around to the front of the restaurant. As she came around the building she ran smack into her mother, who was rifling through her purse.

"Oh, excuse me," Mrs. Vandom said in horror. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." She bent to pick up the articles that fell out of her purse.

_Mom, _she thought staring at Mrs. Vandom in a surprised shocked. She drank in the sight of her mother frantically picking up her items. "It was my fault," Will said softly.

"No, it was all me," Mrs. Vandom said, straightening when all her articles were back in her purse. "I'm a basket case."

"Let me guess," Will said folding her arms, "you're late for a first date?"

"Oh heavens, no," Mrs. Vandom said closing her purse. "I'm looking for my teenager." She shook her head. "She was supposed to be home at three but she was a no show."

"Oh, teenager problems," Will said in sympathy. "Teenagers are the most horrible creatures alive." Her mother nodded in agreement, really looking at her for the first time.

Susan Vandom was struck at how much the young woman looked like her daughter. This girl's hair was longer, and she was much taller, but the resemblance was still striking. "You don't look much older than a teenager yourself," she said.

"I'm eighteen," Will replied honestly. "It takes one of us to know just how selfish and spoiled we are."

Susan smiled. "My daughter and I are new to Heatherfield. We came here for a fresh start." The amusement disappeared from her. "I didn't realize her new start would not include me."

"You can't believe that," Will said in horror. Susan gave her a weird look. "I mean, she's probably busy with school and making new friends."

"She made friends quickly here," Susan said staring at her feet. "Me, I haven't been so lucky." She growled. "Don't get me wrong, I love that she's been able to make friends. I just thought my relationship with Will, that's her name by-the-way, would strengthen not break." She sighed. "As it is, I barely can get her to listen to me anymore."

"Maybe you should approach her differently," Will suggested.

"I wouldn't know how," Susan admitted. "My mother and I had a relationship like the Gilmore Girls. I thought that maybe Will and I could be that close but it's like she has this hold other life here, that I can't begin to understand."

"She's a good kid. Although, she's horrible a math, which she inherited from me," Susan said honestly. "I couldn't multiply my way out of a box at that age." Will grinned at that.

"Maybe she'd be more open if you tell her stuff like how bad you were at math," Will suggested. "It could help that she has an ally that relates to her plight."

"I'll do anything to make her stop seeing me as the enemy," Susan admitted softly.

_Oh Mom, _Will thought her eyes almost tearing up. _I thought I was doing you a favor keeping you out-of-the-loop. Where you were concerned, I made so many mistakes._

"Is her father around?"

"We divorced," Susan replied honestly. "I'm fishing for a replacement."

"Whoa, mistake number one," Will said in horror. "Odds are she doesn't want or need another father." She shook her head in disbelief. "I think you should date for you and not for a replacement for her Dad. Believe me, she won't like it."

"The one parent thing obviously isn't working," Susan said in defeat. "I would not be pouring my heart out to a young stranger, who happens to have a striking resemblance to my daughter, if it were." You really look like her. _Bad fashion sense, red hair, pretty face, big cinnamon colored eyes, and an air of rebellion. Yep, the total Will package._

"Well, this young stranger says, follow my suggestions. It might be a good idea to suggest to her to ask one of her smarter friends to help her in math," Will suggested. "She obviously needs a tutor and it being one of her close friends won't be so embarrassing." She nodded, liking the suggestions she made for her younger self. Taranee would be the perfect tutor and if not her, Hay Lin.

"I'll try," Susan said. "I just wish I could locate her."

"Maybe she's in detention," Will suggested.

"Most likely," Susan said groaning. "That seems to be her new vacation spot."

_Wow, did I use detention for an excuse for being late because of my guardian duties too much?_ She thought unhappily. _Mom must think I'm some kind of juvenile delinquent._

"I have to go," she said regretfully. "Good luck on the situation with your daughter."

"Thank you, uh, I didn't get your name," Susan prompted. "I'm Susan Vandom."

"Uh, Serenity? Yes S-Serenity," Will said quickly. "Until we meet again Susan." Will opted to cross the street, painfully aware of the loud squishing nose her wet tennis shoes were making, so much for giving the appearance of "divine intervention" from above. Guardian Angels didn't wear wet, squishy shoes.

She did not look back. She didn't trust herself to. She was two seconds from running back to her mother and holding on for dear life. She kept a swift pace until she entered the warehouse district. It smelled funny.

Footfalls behind her caused her to stop and glance over her shoulder. She saw no one. She kept on walking. If a stupid robber was behind her she'd zap his ass into the middle of next week! She heard the scurrying again. "Alright, who's following me?" she asked halting again.

"You got bigger," Blunk muttered peeking at her from the side of the old building she stood in front of. His face shrouded in the now reeking blanket. "How?"

"Blunk, there's no reason to hide from me," Will said smiling. "Get over here."

"How?" he asked again leaving his perch and heading toward her.

"I'm the Will of tomorrow," she explained patiently, her voice muffled by the hand covering her nose and mouth to keep the powerful smell Blunk, wore proudly, at bay. "The Will you know was thrown into my world of tomorrow. And I was thrown here."

"Why?" Blunk asked.

"That's what I'm going back to the old bridge to figure out," Will replied. "You want to keep me company?"

"Blunk?" he asked surprised. She actually wanted to spend time with him? The girls known as Will, Taranee, and Cornelia spent a lot of time trying to hide from him. He didn't understand why. He always found them. Maybe it was a game.

"Yes, you," Will replied, removing her hand to smile at him. It quickly went back in place shielding her nose and mouth. Wet passling smelled a bazillion times worse than wet dog.

"Okay" he agreed happily. He fell into step beside her when she continued on her quest. "Are you scared?"

"Blunk I'm relieved that fate has given me another chance," she replied honestly. "It's what I choose to do with this second chance, is what terrifies me."

"Be happy," Blunk said solemnly. It was his simple code of life.

"Happy seems too complicated," Will admitted.

"Being not happy is too complicated," Blunk added his sage advice. "It's easier to be happy."

"Even if it makes someone you care about unhappy?"

"Yes."

"That is selfish," Will replied.

"You can't please all," Blunk said seriously. He tried his hardiest to be friends with the girls in Caleb. Yet, they were still indifferent toward him. He could only be himself and hope that they start treating him like a friend. If not, their loss.

As they walked on, Will considered his words in silence.

The warrior followed them in the shadows. The archer glanced down at them from the top of the building.

Will stopped walking and looked back and up at the roof of the old building._ She saw no one. I still have the feeling that I'm being stalked._ The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

"What wrong?" Blunk asked stopping to look at her.

"I don't think we are alone."

* * *

Will didn't completely grasp the concept of Elyon Brown being the sovereign ruler of Meridian until she saw her sitting on the throne. She looked so small compared to the huge golden chair. She wore a green gown; a gold tiara adorned on her head. She still wore her signature hairstyle. Her blonde locks were just a lot longer.

"Guardians, you're back," she said standing. She grinned. "I was starting to think you guys thought gossiping was more important than me."

"It is actually," Cornelia replied grinning wickedly.

"Off with her head!" Elyon commanded Caleb, in her best "Queen of Hearts" impersonation. The Guardians and she laughed. The Meridian's of the court just rolled their eyes, used to the antics of the princess and the Guardians.

After more friendly banter with her friends, Queen Elyon got down to business. "Phobos and his army is marching toward Meridian," she whispered unhappily.

"Would this be the good one, or the mentally unbalanced one?" Will asked.

"The mentally unbalanced one," Elyon replied amused.

"It's a shame to be that freaking cute and be so diabolically dumb," Irma declared smirking.

"I heard that." _Phobos the Good,_ Irma thought sighing.

"I was counting on it," she silently replied. He'd made a telepathic link with her. Irma! No one in his or her right mind thought Irma could land a cultured man like Phobos, including herself, but she did. "Where are you anyway?"

"I did not wish to distress your young friend."

"Ah, air tower calling Irma," Hay Lin said smiling.

"What," Irma replied, startled out of her mental conversation with Phobos.

"You were a million miles away," Taranee declared giving her a strange look.

_Damn you Taranee and your mind reading, _Irma thought blushing. "Sorry," she managed to mutter.

"Where's Aldarn?" Caleb asked.

"He's with the archers," Elyon replied. "Legolas is no where to be found so he has to command the archers, also." She was referring to Matt Olsen. She called him Legolas partly because of the presence of Will, and because of his accuracy with the bow. Matt rarely missed his target, and when teamed with Hay Lin's powers over air, the duo was almost unstoppable.

"I tried to contact him when we were in Heatherfield," Hay Lin said seriously. "I guess he hasn't gotten the chance to slip a way."

"Is my men here," Caleb asked shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Yes," Elyon replied. "They are waiting on you."

"Good, Will can unlock the Guardians powers for the girls and stay here until the battle is won," Caleb said thoughtfully. "The Guardians and I need to be out there reviewing our strategy with Aldarn."

Elyon was about to voice her agreement when Will asked, "What do you mean, I stay here?" She rushed forward to try and get in his face.

"This is not your battle," Caleb replied simply.

_Wrong day to mess with me Buddy._ "The hell it isn't!" Will ranted. "I'm the guardian leader. I have just as much right to be there as you!"

"You're staying here and that's final." His calm holier-than-tone made her madder.

"Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do?" Will demanded, standing on her toes but still not quite tall enough to get in the vicinity of his face or his neck.

"We already have to deal with the fact that she might be dead," Caleb snapped, losing patience. "We don't need to worry about you on the battlefield."

"Newsflash, I can take care of myself."

"And if you get killed, what happens to her?" he asked.

_Her, _Will thought startled, her feelings of anger evaporating. _He's talking about me, well future me anyway. He doesn't want her to be hurt. _"I-she-I won't exist," she muttered.

"What you do effects her so you are staying here!" Will looked at him strangely but she thankfully remained silent.

"Will you're staying here," Elyon agreed relieved the verbal duel was over. "If your powers were unlocked to their full potential I would not hesitate to allow you to fight alongside the other Guardians."

"Whatever," Will muttered. She took the Heart from around her neck, turned and held it out toward the guardians. A pink light engulfed the room as the girls, minus Will, transformed into their Guardian forms.

After the light show, signaling the transformation over, the four Guardians, minus their leader levitated off the ground. "How many times are we going to have to catch Phobos?" Cornelia, the Guardian of Earth, pouted. "Doesn't he realize some of us have college now?"

"Hopefully this will be our last time," Taranee, the Guardian of Fire, assured her.

"He's like a giant roach," Hay Lin, the Guardian of Air, declared. "I wish he'd get a hobby like tennis or chess."

"Or become a stripper." This from the Guardian of Water.

"Irma!" Everyone, including Phobos, exclaimed.

* * *

He came from out of nowhere. Swords drawn, eyes cold, vacant, and deadly. Neither Will nor Blunk saw him coming. They stared at the top of the building, sensing danger from that direction.

"Look out!"

Will looked in the direction of the shout. It was Taranee. Blunk saw the danger and launched himself at Will. He slammed into her side, knocking her to the ground.

The assailant barely missed them. Will didn't see his face but recognized the armor. She grabbed the heart. A pink light engulfed her and snaked over to engulf Taranee. They changed to their guardian forms. Blunk used this as a diversion to run to safety.

"Fire!" Taranee powered up and launched her fire attack at the villain. He didn't acknowledge her or her attack. It hit him in the back. The armor had to burn him, yet he still concentrated on Will.

Will flew in the air to get around the swords and zipped around him. "Lightning!" She hit him in the back of the helmet with a small bolt of lightning.

He fell forwards, his helmet coming off his head with a clatter. He struck his nose on the asphalt. He got to his feet like a puppet being moved around by an unseen puppeteer.

He turned toward Will, who'd just started to form a pink energy ball. It dissipated in her hands when she saw his identity. _No! _His mouth twisted into a sneer, blood from his nose ran over his mouth down his chin. "Lei!"

Taranee flew to her side. "You know him?"

"He's from my time," Will explained softly. "He's a close friend of ours."

"He doesn't seem so friendly at the moment," Taranee said. "What is wrong with him? He's acting like an assassin gone mummy."

"He has to be under some kind of spell," Will said. "Taranee help-" her words were cut off as Lei attacked again. Will and Taranee sailed high into the air. They looked down at their foe. "I don't want to hurt him."

"He wants to hurt you," Taranee said in reply.

"We have to find away to subdue him without getting sliced and diced," Will said thoughtfully.

"I can distract him with fire balls so you can get close to him, but what then?"

"I'll use my powers and the Heart to turn him back to the nice quirky guy that he is."

"Okay," Taranee said. "Be careful." She started to power up.

"Thanks for the save earlier," Will said smiling. "What are you doing out here?"

"I followed Blunk, following you and believe me it was not a pleasant journey for my nose," Taranee muttered in concentration. "Ready?" Will nodded. Taranee threw a fireball down toward Lei. Will followed its descent.

Lei dodged the ball of fire, before he could turn his attention on Will, he found himself dodging another fireball.

Will flew around him waiting for his guard to drop. She didn't want to rush him. Getting decapitated didn't seem like a fun event. Taranee threw a massive fireball. _That's it, _Will thought.

When it landed near Lei, he flipped backwards. Will flew through the flames, morphing her body into energy so she would not be burned. She cupped his head, turning back to bodily form. She let just enough energy leave her fingers to render him immobile. Once he dropped the weapons, she stopped the flow of energy.

A pink glow surrounded them both. "The Heart."

"I hope you know what you're doing Will," Taranee said softly. She descended from the skies so she could hear.

"Come on Lei," Will whispered her hands still cupping his head. "You have to help me help you." She closed her eyes briefly then opened them in determination. "Think about Hay Lin. With Yan Lin, your grandmother, sick she feels as if you're the only person in her family that truly understands her and wants her to be happy. She needs you in her corner."

His brown eyes closed. Was he listening? Was her words penetrating the thick walls of evil?

"Yan Lin loves you so much," Will said quickly. "When you first came to town she wanted to kick your butt two ways from Sunday because of that stupid attitude."

"It took some doing but you made her see that you weren't as rotten as we all thought you were. That revelation was made possible because of Cornelia's relentless quest to reveal you as the Jackass she thought you were."

You proved her wrong, thus recreating yourself in our eyes . . . in her eyes," Will said passionately. "You are a strong person and you can aid me in breaking this spell."

* * *

"I'm worried about her."

Taranee glanced over at Caleb. He stared off into the distance at the approaching army. His brown hair dancing with the wind. The archers were waiting on him to give the order to start firing the arrows.

She didn't know whether or not to tell him what she knew about Will's journey. Honestly, she hadn't told anyone what she saw that day.

It all came down to grief. One of her best friend's fell right before her eyes. And yet, Will's final fate was a mystery to her. _You should be worried Caleb. I am.

* * *

  
_

**Author's Notes:** I am sorry it took me so long to update. I've hit on some bad times and didn't have the will to really write my stories. Hopefully my next chapter won't take so long to update. Thank you for your reviews.

I read part of "According to Plan" and noticed that Seniya has a squeaky shoe moment as well. I thought about taking my scene out, but it just fit and she did have unfortunate adventures with water in both scenes…lol. "According to Plan" is great by the way. You guys should check it out. Well the few of you who hasn't read it yet. I'm way behind in reading it, but I'm catching up.

I invented Lei Lin without knowing about Peter, but in the first season of WITCH, he wasn't mentioned.


	8. Warped Games

Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H.

Chapter 8: Warped Games

As the forces of good watched Phobos's mystical army march closer and closer, Taranee Cook decided to wait until after the battle before she informed Caleb and the others exactly what she knew about Will's fate. If she were to tell them prematurely, they would not be concentrating on Phobos.

It was weird, almost like she'd forgotten about what happened until a few moments ago.

"Caleb concentrate on the battle ahead," she said seriously.

"I am," he muttered. "It is difficult to be devoted to two causes that mean so much to me." _This isn't going to end well. She's in trouble and I can't help her._ He raised his sword, signaling for the archers to get their bows ready.

Cornelia's hand rose in the air. "Earth!" On her command a sandstorm brewed between the castle and the marching army making visibility impossible.

Hay Lin became transparent as she began to concentrate. She became one with the air around her. She was able to feel the approaching army's breathing. "Alright," she whispered to Caleb.

Caleb brought the sword down. The archers nocked their arrows, aimed, and shot upwards. Hay Lin took over with her powers. "Air." She guided the arrows through the sandstorm, and through the soldiers on the first and second line of the approaching army. They embedded in the soldiers in the third line, stopping there.

Her aim true, the creatures turned to a black vapor and then dissipated. Queen Elyon and her brother had enchanted the arrows earlier the previous night.

The Meridian forces prepared to shoot more arrows.

* * *

Queen Elyon watched Will as she stood near the window trying to see through the sandstorm, but failing. "I am sorry about ordering you to stay here," she said sincerely. "You must realize it's for your own safety."

"Her safety you mean," Will said bitterly, her attention still on the flying sand outside. "What's so great about her anyway?" She folded her arms, a frown decorating her face.

"Will, you two are one in the same," Elyon said amused. Only Will Vandom would find away to be jealous of herself. "We all care about you. We do not want to see you hurt."

Will made a face. "If you go out there, something could happen, and then she won't exist," she said mimicking Caleb's voice. "I really felt the love then." _Jerk._

"I apologize if we made you feel inferior to your future self," Elyon said trying to be serious.

"Today sucks!" Will ranted. "I don't see this ever being topped as the worse day of my life!"

Her words sobered Elyon. _Oh Will, you don't realize the significance of those words,_ she thought sadly. She chewed on her lower lip nervously.

"Blunk don't want Will to get hurt," he said firmly. He, Will, Elyon, the queen's advisors, and a few guards were the only ones in the throne room.

In fear that her people would be hurt, she sent them to the Infinite City. Phobos would have to destroy Aldarn, the Meridian Royal Guard, the Guardians, and the royal siblings to get to them.

"At least you two care," Will muttered.

"So do the other guardians," Elyon replied. "In fact, the only one who appeared to want otherwise was Caleb."

"I do not know why I put up with that showoff, know-it-all, jerk," she muttered her emotions matching the stupid sand, flying around obstructing her view. "Once Cornelia started making goo-goo eyes at him, he left me in peace. Apparently he's back in full idiot form." She missed Elyon tumble over in silent laughter.

"I don't see what's wrong with him worrying about you," Elyon replied, sitting up straight trying to get herself under control. Blunk nodded his agreement. "I like when Aldarn worries about me." Not that she would tell him that aloud. She blushed prettily.

"He was worrying about the other me," Will said through gritted teeth. "I bet if she was dangling over a cliff, he'd kicked me over the edge to get to her." She was too irritated to care that that statement made no logical sense.

"Do you like Caleb?" Elyon asked teasingly.

Will finally turned to look at her, in horror. "I'm not that desperate," she declared, her skin tone slowly turning the color of her hair. "I just think he could've been a lot nicer."

* * *

"Will," Lei Lin whispered.

"Yes, Lei," she replied softly.

"I'm not," his eyes closed again; her eyes widened as she strained to hear. He crumbled to the ground. The word "alone" never got a chance to grace his lips.

Will fell to her knees beside him to check to see if he had a pulse. She hoped she had not caused him any brain damage.

As she reached toward his neck, the archer took aim and let loose his arrow. It descended through the air toward her.

Taranee, who was tired from using so much of her energy, was startled as the arrow whistled passed her, just over her right wing.

It all seemed like slow motion when she realized what exactly had sailed through the air so near her. "Will!" Her friends name tore from her lips as the arrow embedded in the vicinity of her heart.

Will's startled brown eyes looked down at the arrow. For some reason, she felt no pain. Before she could reach to remove the arrow, it turned to black ooze seeping through the wound, and then it closed. She looked up at Taranee in disbelief._ Why don't I feel pain?_

Taranee flew to her side. "Are you alright?" she asked frantically.

"I don't know," Will replied confused. _What kind of arrow was that and why am I not hurt?_ They both looked up in the direction the arrow came from.

The archer stood on the ledge, his dark hair blowing in the wind. He calmly took aim and let loose another arrow from his bow. _Matt!_

"Lightning!" She threw a bolt of lightning at the arrow, disintegrating it. Pain shot through her body. Pain so intense, she fell to her knees, a tortured scream escaping her lips.

"Will!" Taranee exclaimed, hovering over her friend.

"We have to help him," she muttered, her voice sounding far off; like a weird echo.

"You're hurt," Taranee said worried. "Let me stop him."

"He's my friend," Will said stubbornly, breathing hard. "I have to change him back."

"Stay here and I'll relinquish him of his weapon," Taranee commanded, her eyes focusing on Matt in determination.

"Try not to hurt him," Will requested trying to focus on Taranee.

She silently nodded. She flew upwards, flames of anger dancing in her eyes.

The unknown guy took aim at Will. Refusing to be ignored any longer, Taranee focused her smothering eyes on his bow. It started to smoke. He shot his arrow, before having to drop the weapon.

Taranee threw a fireball at the arrow, burning into cinders.

The archer looked at her smiling charmingly.

Taranee gasped, recognizing the handsome young man. "Matt?" She wasn't completely sure it was him because he was older, but Will had collected many pictures of Matt and she'd estimate this was exactly how the handsome young man would look older.

He bowed in a dramatic fashion, straightened and then stepped off the edge. "No!" She flew toward him._ I won't make it in time, _she thought frantically.

* * *

Meanwhile, Caleb read Will's note carefully. He frowned, wondering why she would be joking about jumping off the bridge.

"Well, what does it say?" Cornelia demanded, arms folded in impatience.

"She went back to the bridge," he replied.

"What are we waiting for?" Hay Lin demanded. "Lets go!"

"Where's Taranee?" Irma asked.

"She probably slipped home to watch a boring History Channel documentary," Cornelia muttered. "Lets get going."

Caleb looked around, for his coat. "Has anyone seen my coat?" he asked rubbing the back of his head confused.

"Hopefully, Blunk traded it for something more useful," Cornelia replied. "Like lice."

* * *

A pink light streaked toward Matt, at the speed of light. Will turned back to her solid guardian form and caught him just before he crashed to the asphalt.

Taranee sighed with relief, stopping beside her friend. Will grabbed the Heart and laid it against Matt's forehead. The light engulfing them, made seeing what was going on inside impossible.

In the blink of an eye, Taranee changed from her Guardian form back to her normal thirteen-year-old self. She fell the few feet, to the ground, landing ungracefully on her feet.

When the bright pink light faded, both Will and Matt were unconscious on the ground. "Will!" she shouted in horror. _This cannot be happening._ She looked from Will to Matt to the other unknown guy.

* * *

Phobos watched the Guardians from his position behind his massive army. He could see through the thick sand storm. He frowned in displeasure.

_Those no count creatures should not have powers like my own. _It was bad enough his ugly hag of a sister, as he labeled Elyon, had more power than him but also these no count girls of inferior breeding and birth.

He shook his head, caressing the staff of Malin. It would right all the wrongs handed down to him.

* * *

Blunk met Caleb and the other Guardians, as they hurried in the direction of the old bridge. "Help! Girls in trouble!" he exclaimed frantically. The girls looked at each other frightened.

"Where?" Caleb asked calmly.

"Follow Blunk!" The passling commanded. He ran toward the Warehouse district with Caleb and the girls at his heels.

Cornelia again found herself running in her to tight ankle length skirt. So much for looking cute for Caleb.

Could this day get any weirder? Irma thought. First Will acts all crazy on us. Then she goes and gets herself trapped in the future. Now Will's future self is stirring up trouble. _I knew making friends with her would be cool! _She felt like a penguin.

_What has Will gotten herself into now? _Hay Lin wondered silently. _Future Will is so cool! I hope I'm that cool when I get older._

* * *

"Will you have to wake up," Taranee knelt beside her unconscious friend, holding her hand tightly. "Please." Her eyes filled with tears.

Many thoughts raced through her head, the most prominent being, if she left to go for help would the two guys wake up still under the spells? _Will would be defenseless. I can't leave her._

She knew there wasn't much she could do outside of her Guardian form. She did not stand a chance against the Matt look alike and his companion, but she stayed.

"Blunk!" she called looking around. "Blunk!" _Where'd he go? The one time I actually want him in my vicinity and he's disappeared. _"Blunk!"

* * *

After the arrows ran out, the Guardians flew over the side of the castle toward Aldarn and the army, who were waiting in front of the castle.

"Grab your weapons of choice," Caleb commanded turning to his men. Some were new faces. Others were once enemies. The majority were the rebels of old. "Lets capture that creep for the last time." The saluted him and hurried to do his command.

He turned his back to them to watch the Guardians fly ahead of Aldarn and the other part of the Royal Guard, disappearing inside of the sand cloud.

A lost memory crept into his being. A memory of fear as he, Cornelia, Irma, and Hay Lin followed Blunk to Will's location. He closed his eyes, his hand balling into fists. _Damn . . . ._

_You have to concentrate Caleb, _he commanded himself silently. _Win this battle before worrying over another. Meridian is your home. You've fought for it your whole life._ He could honestly say he didn't care about Meridian. What would missing one man do to tip the scale? Nothing. The loss of a Guardian could be devastating to all the worlds the girls protected. Devastating to him . . . .

A hand resting on his right shoulder jolted him from his meandering thoughts. He glanced back over his shoulder at his father, Julian.

"Are you well, Caleb?" he asked in concern.

"Yes," he replied automatically.

"Where is Will?"

"Dying," he replied, "and I'm stuck here playing babysitter to a spoiled prince who should have been put out of his misery years ago."

"Fate would not be so cruel," Julian said. His son could not be destined for a life of heartache like him.

"Fate has little to do with it," Caleb replied. "Let us go."

* * *

Phobos "The Good" sat in his room reading an absurd novel given to him from Irma. It was from her world. How he longed to see it, with her and her dry humor as his guide.

It was a dream never to be fulfilled. His time in this world slowly ticked away. He knew he was destine to finish this nightmare once and for all.

If Irma and Elyon had even the tiniest inkling of what he had planned, they would find a way to lock him inside the castle.

_It must be done,_ he thought, concentration on the novel lost. _Elyon and I are the only beings strong enough to destroy him. Elyon is to merciful to do what needs to be done. I cannot allow him to live on. I cannot. Damn him for his warped games . . . ._


	9. Friends Restored

Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H.

Chapter 9: Friends Restored

Apparently, obsessing over Caleb's lack of respect gave the appearance of jealousy instead of mild annoyance, so a change of subject was so in order. "Did your rise to power have any causalities?" Will asked, calming down enough to approach the throne.

"Yes," Queen Elyon admitted frowning. "It was my fault though."

"We might as well make this trip count for something," Will declared. "Now that I know who you are, maybe we can change a few things for the better."

Queen Elyon looked startled at the suggestion. She mentally weighed the pros and cons of Will knowing her identity so prematurely. What would the repercussions be? Would she still be the ruler she'd become? "I think it is best if things play out the way it was meant to," she said firmly. "I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I think if even the slightest thing changes, I would not be the person that I am today. The leader that I am today."

"Is that even possible?" Will asked. "How can this play out the way it did- err will?" She looked incredulous. "I know the truth."

"I will think of something." She would simply erase Will's memories of this event or at least tuck them away until the time was right for her to remember. The memory binding would not just be cast on Will. The other Guardians' memories would also have to be wiped. The spell she would have to cast would be powerful. She hoped after the battle with Phobos, she would have enough energy to cast it.

Oh how her brother's deception hurt her, but it taught her a valuable lesson. Princess Elyon's mistake created Queen Elyon. She dared not think of what method would be used to shape her into an independent woman worthy of ruling Meridian, if not by Phobos's betrayal.

Queen Elyon stood gracefully. "I must converse with my brother. We will face his other half together."

"You don't seem too worried," Will noted surprised.

"I'm not," she replied. "With my brother by my side, as it should have been from the beginning, I fear little."

_Right, the good Phobos,_ Will thought. _Who knew that total screw up knew goodness was even a word let a lone a way of life?_

* * *

"Earth!" Cornelia called. A huge boulder came under her command. It barreled toward the remaining army. It bounced, like a basketball, toward Phobos crushing some of his henchmen in its wake. When it got fifty feet away from Phobos, Cornelia raised her arm in the air. With this new command, the boulder rose high in the air, and with a flick of her hand, it descended through the air toward Phobos.

Phobos merely looked at the staff in boredom. Now under his command, the boulder stopped in mid air. He raised his free hand, and swung it downward. The boulder changed direction and headed toward the Guardians.

Cornelia gasped terrified that someone in the Meridian Guard would be killed by the attack she initiated. She desperately tried to get it back under control.

"Air!" Hay Lin called, thrusting both palms forward. Wind erupted from her palms. She aimed her attack at the boulder. It stopped, as the Guardian of Air's power took over, warring with Phobos's.

Taranee, momentarily, stopped attacking the foot soldiers to help Hay Lin. "Fire." She focused on the huge boulder, snapping her fingers. The boulder melted to magma and rained down on the hostile army below.

Phobos turned the magma to shards of cool rock to protect his army. Cornelia and Hay Lin used them as daggers against his enchanted army, embedding the shards deep within the creatures.

When Aldarn rode on the scene with most of the Meridian army, the Guardians focused on Phobos.

* * *

"Help me please!" Taranee tearfully called. One of her best friends was dying in her arms and she could do nothing but sit there in watch. If only her father would allow her to have a cell phone. She could've have called Yan Lin and help would be on the way.

"Taranee!" _Caleb,_ she thought sighing deeply in relief.

"Over here!" She sat with her back against the building, looking from one unconscious guy to another. She prayed that Will was able to break the spells over them.

Blunk's smell arrived before he did. Caleb, Irma, Hay Lin, and Cornelia appeared around the side of the building in that order. "No!" Cornelia and Hay Lin moaned when the understood the scene.

"Will," Irma whispered. The girls rushed forward, the two fallen warriors inconsequential to them.

"What happened?" Caleb asked after a quick survey of the scene.

"I found Will's note so I decided to follow her," Taranee explained. "I was able to warn her before that guy could ambush her." She cocked her head toward the figure that lay motionless some yards off. "We changed to Guardian Form, to combat him." Two tears fell. "We did not see this guy until it was too late. He'd already shot her with some kind of enchanted arrow."

"An enchanted arrow?" Caleb prompted. "You didn't pull it out did you?" Doing so by inexperienced hands would have caused worse damage than the initial wound itself.

"No," Taranee replied. "It turned to some disgusting black ooze and entered her body through the wound. She was okay, at first. Not until she used her powers, did it start to take effect." She shook her head. "She was in so much pain."

"Poor Will," Irma whispered, her eyes fixed on her deathly pale friend.

"Shouldn't we take her to the hospital?" Cornelia asked in concern.

"I doubt that they have anything that can counteract in enchanted arrow," Irma replied softly. "Caleb is there any physician in Meridian that can undo this?"

"I've never heard of sorcery like this," Caleb admitted. "We could take her to Meridian, but once there we risk facing the wrath of Phobos."

"I don't care," Hay Lin said tearfully. "She's dying."

Lei Lin muttered a curse as he heard his cousin's high-pitched voice. Did she have to be so loud so early in the morning? "Cousin do be quiet," he muttered in distaste. His brown eyes opened; his peaceful slumber ruined.

He became acutely aware of the taste of blood in his mouth. He made a gagging sound, alerting the others of his conscious state.

Caleb, Irma, and Cornelia got their feet, putting themselves between Will and the unknown warrior.

Lei raised on his haunches, after wiping the back of his hand over his mouth. His eyes fell on the young teens; one in particular. "Lillian?" _What in the world is going on? When did Lillian find friends who look exactly like Caleb and Irma?_

"Oh please," Cornelia said insulted, "like that little pipsqueak will ever look this good."

He knew that spoiled-holier-than thou voice anywhere. "Cornelia," he said in shock.

"Duh," she replied, with arms folded and pretty nose in the air.

He looked at the teens again. Caleb, Irma, and Cornelia seemed to have shrunk, and when he tried to look around them, they shifted to where he couldn't.

"Are you guys playing some kind of weird prank?" he asked grimacing in pain as he got to his feet. "For the record, it isn't funny." The guardians loved using the Heart to play tricks on people. He figured he was the butt of some obnoxiously dumb joke. Most likely courtesy of Irma or Hay Lin.

"What did you do to Will?" Caleb asked icily.

"You attacked her," Irma accused.

"There's not a jury in the world that would convict me," Lei replied smiling charmingly, figuring to just play along with this absurd charade. "Tell me what I did to her and why," his eyes strayed to Matt, "is Matt unconscious on the ground?" His smile faltered.

"Matt?" Irma repeated shocked. "As in Matt Olsen?"

"Who else Princess Lair?" he asked. "Matt Dillon from Gunsmoke?" As he approached, they all had to look up to see his face. He towered above even Caleb. He looked over them and saw young Taranee, young Hay Lin, and Will. She looked dead. "What happened?" he asked shocked.

The accusations of Caleb and Irma started to register in his brain. The joke theory became a distant memory. Why were the other guardians so young? Will was the only one who looked her actual age. Why did she look dead? "What's going on?" He focused his uncertain eyes on Hay Lin.

"He's no longer under the spell," Taranee said cautiously. "I think Will broke it."

Hay Lin's watery eyes looked at him closely from her perch near Will. "Uncle?" She stood up, the others looked at her in shock. "You died like years ago."

"I am his son, Lei Lin," he replied. Hay Lin did not know him? She was the first one in the family that set eyes on him. She was outside when his mother pretty much threw him out of a speeding car as she passed The Silver Dragon. Hay Lin always had his back no matter how horrible he acted. "I don't understand what's happening." _Make me understand._

"Lei, you and Matt were under a spell," Taranee explained. "You and he were sent back in time to kill Will, who was also sent back in time. Matt shot her with an enchanted arrow."

"Enchanted arrow?" He closed his eyes, as memories assaulted him. It seemed his body had awakened hours before his soul. His body had been used to help subdue a dear friend. "Damn it!" He stepped backwards, and turned his back on them. He closed his eyes, his hands balling into tight fist. "Will," he muttered.

"Do you know how to save her?" Hay Lin asked softly, "Cousin."

"I do," he replied, with head bowed.

"Please, I beg you," Hay Lin pleaded. "Help her."

His nice to a fault cousin was a great chink in his mental armor. "I have to take her to the Queen," Lei Lin admitted. "It is in her hands now."_ Her life is tied to that cursed staff. The only way to save Will is to destroy it. But destroying it will destroy both the good Phobos and the bad Phobos. That is something Queen Elyon will never allow. But she doesn't have to know that . . . ._

Elyon could never find it in her heart to get rid of her brother; even after his betrayal. Would she finally kill the bastard in the service of a friend? He seriously doubted it. Well, he'd just manipulate the situation. The reign of terror of her brother had to end. He chose the wrong man to use as a puppet. It would be his downfall.

"The Queen," Caleb repeated. "She's here now?"

"No," Lei replied. "Matt and I will accompany Will home, back to our time, to have audience with the Queen." Matt would happily agree to help him. This whole situation would crush him.

"Can we come with you?" Irma asked. "Will may need our assistance."_ I am no fool and I am not totally convinced you are on our side._ It did not matter to her how handsome Lei Lin was.

"Matt and I will protect her," Lei said stubbornly. "I urge all of you to go home."

"I am not leaving until I find out that she is okay," Caleb said stubbornly.

"That sentiment goes double for us," Cornelia said, glaring up at the back of Lei's head, with her arms folded.

"Trust me Duchess Hale," Lei said. "You do not want to be here."

"She is dying isn't she?" Taranee demanded looking down at her friend. "And there is nothing we can do about it."

"We must get back to our time," Lei Lin replied. "It's her only chance." He approached Matt. "Cornelia be a doll and see if you can heal her enough to awaken her."

Cornelia was visibly startled at the suggestion. "I do not have the power to heal and even if I did, I could not use it without being in guardian form."

"You have to try Duchess," he coaxed, turning to face her. "The only hope we have of getting back to our time is Will and the Heart."

"What if I make it worse?" Cornelia asked her blue eyes wide with fear.

"Awaken your friend Duchess." He turned his back to her, hurrying over to Matt. He knelt beside Matt, grabbed his shoulders, and shook him violently. "Wake up!"

Cornelia approached Will, nervously. Hay Lin moved aside and so did Taranee after she used her jacket for a pillow for Will's head.

Cornelia wanted to cry. She and Will had not agreed on many things, but she'd never wished for her to die. Now it seemed that Will's very life was in her hands. Hay Lin's cousin seemed to think she could heal Will. Maybe the Cornelia he knew could do stuff like that.

He seemed to know her well if he thought she was that annoying brat Lillian! _Really! _Lillian had freckles. She didn't have a blemish anywhere. The only mark she'd tolerate was a beauty mark near her mouth like Cindy Crawford's. Did she and Lei Lin over there not get along in the future? How dare he insult her! What a snob!

A green light surrounded her and Will as her annoyance at Lei Lin grew.

Matthew Olsen opened his eyes afraid a freak Earthquake had hit Heatherfield. Known to be a heavy sleeper, it didn't register in his mind until moments later that the Earthquake theory was dumb.

"Matt!" Lei shouted again for good measure. Pacified that Matt was awake, he let go of his friend's shoulders, standing to look down at him with arms akimbo.

Only after having a good stretch and yawn did the oblivious Matt realize that he was not in his dorm room. It smelled like he was awakening from a good night's sleep in a trashcan. "What the hell?" he muttered.

"Hell is exactly what this is," Lei Lin said in reply. As the girls, Blunk, and Caleb watched Cornelia attempt to heal Will, Lei helped Matt to his feet. "Listen to me carefully."

Matt's back was to the others as Lei filled him in on the details, as he knew them. His shoulders sagged with every word. He looked back once, his eyes a storm of emotion. _No, _he thought in sorrow.

"Snap out of it," Lei commanded. "We have to get her back to our time. Maybe we can catch the Queen before she heads for the battle field."

"It will not matter," Matt said quietly. "She will never destroy the staff when she finds out Phobos will die."

"She doesn't have to know," Lei Lin said seriously. "And even if she happens to find out we have four magically friends who will help us in a heartbeat, if it means saving Will's life."

"Three," Matt corrected him. Hay Lin happily informed him about Irma's relationship with Phobos. "Irma will be a question mark."

Lei's mouth set in a firm line. Princess Lair was once his best friend. They both were huge Star Wars fans, so when he started calling her Princess Lair, she thought it was a hoot. She even had a crush on him before she found out about his feelings for Cornelia. After he started dating Cornelia his relationship with Irma was never the same. He tried not to think about how all this would ultimately hurt her.

"Are you alright now?" Lei asked concerned for Matt's sanity. "No matter how upset you are, you cannot let them sense it." He whispered this just in case Hay Lin was eavesdropping. Matt silently nodded.

Will's eyes opened, as she sucked in a huge breath. "Will!" Her friends exclaimed in relief. Cornelia smiled in relief, standing gracefully. _I did it!_

"You did it Cornelia!" Hay Lin cheered happily. Matt and Lei hurried over.

Will focused her eyes on them all. "They should not be here." She directed this at Lei and Matt.

"They were already here when we awoke," Lei replied.

"Are you alright?" Matt asked in concern.

The answer to that question was no, but she'd never admit the truth in front of the younger teens. They had already witnessed to much; especially Taranee. The last thing that she wanted was for them to spend the rest of their lives mourning her. If it came to that.

She used pure will to get to her feet. "It is good to see you two alert and spelless," she said smiling at Matt and Lei Lin. She turned to Taranee. "Thanks for helping me."

"That is what friends do," Taranee said. Will hugged her briefly.

"Good job Duchess Hale," Lei said in his holier-than-thou tone. "It is great to see you are not a complete failure."

"Go jump off a very large cliff and die," Cornelia snapped her blue eyes stormy with anger. Her outburst surprised the younger teens. His responding laugh grated on her nerves even more. Cornelia despised snobs.

"Hey, you can't talk to my cousin like that," Hay Lin said frowning.

"We don't even know this clown," Cornelia replied folding her arms.

"So," Hay Lin replied offended.

"Will you didn't answer his question," Caleb pointed out. "Are you okay?"

"As well as to be expected," she replied. "I want to thank you all for your help." She turned away from him. "Lei, Matt, and I will continue on alone from here."

"You cannot be serious?" Cornelia asked in horror.

"You are aware that they just tried to kill you?" Caleb asked, grabbing Will by her elbow. She turned to face him surprised.

"Come on guys, calm down," Lei commanded. "She will be safe with us."

"You must excuse us for not believing you," Irma replied. "Will we are going with you."

"Where we are going, you can't follow," Matt explained rationally.

"You need us just in case Phobos attacks," Hay Lin said. "You can't defeat him without ITCH."

"Itch?" Lei Lin and Cornelia prompted confused.

"WITCH minus Will," Hay Lin explained sagely. "Which is what we will be called if we lose her."

"Hay Lin you have way to much time on your hands," Lei declared. "I do give you my word of honor as a Lin that we will not harm her." He smiled charmingly at his younger cousin.

"You know, you look like a vampire with that dried blood on your face," she said honestly, "but I believe you."

"We don't," Caleb replied. "And we aren't letting her out of our sight."

Will reached over and covered the hand that was holding her elbow with her own hand. She wrapped her fingers around his and gently pulled her arm from his grasp. She squeezed his hand gently and then let go. "Barrier." A blue barrier, in the shape of a bubble, surrounded Caleb and the girls.

"Hey!" Caleb and the girls exclaimed. They started beating on the barrier, trying to break free.

"I am so sorry," Will said. "You guys were meant to see none of this."

"Will," Taranee whispered.

She opened a portal leading to Caleb's room in the Silver Dragon. "This is not the end," she said looking each one of her friends in the eye. "I swear we'll meet again. You can all thrash me then." She ignored the cries of her friends as the barrier levitated and started floating toward the portal. "Good bye." She averted her gaze so pleading green eyes would not manipulate her into letting them free.

"Will!" After the barrier entered the portal, she made sure they reached the other side before she closed it. Her shoulders slumped as she let out a tortured breath. The effort to pretend to be fine took a lot out of her.

"Will," Blunk said hesitantly.

"You better get out of here Blunk," Matt commanded softly. "This is no place for you."

"Blunk stay."

"Don't be difficult."

"Blunk stay."

"Promise me you will not tell a soul about what you see or hear," Will said looking down at him.

"Blunk promise."

"Where are we going Will?" Lei Lin asked.

"Back to where it all started," Will replied. "The bridge."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Thank you to all who voted for my stories in the WITCH fan fiction awards. You are too kind. I have like three chapters left. Then I will be finished with this story.

I have another one that I am planning to write. It's a Kingdom Hearts/WITCH crossover event. The main characters will be Will, Caleb, Elyon, Riku, Donald, Goofy, Hinata Hyuga, Kohaku, and Kagome Higurashi. They will have one main mission: That is to find the lost Sora and Kairi to restore order to the worlds.


	10. The Final Battle

Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H.

Chapter 10: The Final Battle

"Ready?" Queen Elyon Brown asked Phobos concerned. She didn't know if he even heard her enter his chambers. He looked as if he held up the entire world upon his thin shoulders. Maybe they were all asking too much of him.

He looked up her and smiled. "Yes Dearest," he said, his eyes betraying his intense thoughts. The smile did not fool her for one minute.

"You have been acting kind of weird," Queen Elyon admitted taking the chair beside him. "Can you face him? Because if you cannot, I will do so alone."

"I am not afraid of him anymore," he replied resting his hand over hers. "Being introduced to such evil and knowing that I was its source crippled me for a time, but I am stronger now."

"He is the source," Queen Elyon declared, "not you."

"We are one in the same Sister."

"You are nothing like him!"

"Except for the fact that we have the same DNA," Phobos pointed out gently. "And we share the worse fashion sense this side of the veil, or so Irma warns me." He smiled causing her to smile.

"Lets go."

* * *

Phobos used the staff to reverse the girls' transformation. They fell from the skies. Cornelia Hale's telekinesis and Hay Lin's mastery of air brought them all safely to the ground.

"Water!" Irma Lair called firing a blast of water from her extended palms at Phobos. Taranee Cook put her hand on Irma's shoulder; the water became scolding hot as it hit its target.

Cornelia used her telekinesis to pick up discarded weapons to use against him. Hay Lin used her air powers to enhance Cornelia's abilities.

Hay Lin tried not to think about Matt Olsen, who was glaringly missing. He was supposed to be firing arrows at enemies at her back. Lei Lin was also missing. Fate would not be so cruel to take away four people she loved in the same day.

"Concentrate!" Cornelia commanded as some of the weapons went off course, almost beheading Irma and Taranee, who had the good sense to duck.

"I'm trying!"

"Try harder!"

"Right."

* * *

"Protect the Guardians!" Aldarn commanded as he in the Meridian Royal Guard fought their way through Phobos's henchmen toward the girls. The girls were in trouble. He had witnessed Phobos use the staff to undo their Guardian forms. They were at half strength and now at Phobos's mercy.

Aldarn and his men could not get to them. Phobos's enchanted army was mighty indeed. He hooted in joy when the rest of the Meridian Royal Guard rode on the scene. He renewed his efforts in trying to reach the Guardians.

* * *

"I tire of this ridiculous battle," Phobos said, sighing.

"Why?" He growled when he heard the enchanting voice of his nightmares. _Where is she?_ he thought angrily. "For the battle is only just beginning, Brother." His face distorted into a look of disgusted displeasure as Elyon and his cowardly other half materialized on the scene. They stood between him and the guardians.

The two tried to look menacingly at him, but it only served for his amusement. The mystical arts were wasted on two so pure. All of that power should be his. He would use it to make the universe his very own personal chest board.

* * *

Young Will Vandom allowed Blunk to give her a tour of the castle. Not so much that she actually cared the castle existed but to extract information from him about the Will Vandom that seemed to have so many fans. Being Blunk, he was totally oblivious to read between the lines of her questions.

"Blunk glad you home," he said, as they entered the library. "We missed you."

"Did the other me not come and visit at all?" Will asked curiously.

"Not enough," he said in a condemning tone that sounded suspiciously like another Cornelia rebuff.

"Why was Caleb so mean in there?" she asked. "Why didn't he want me to head into battle with the other guardians?"

"Caleb loves Will," he said solemnly.

"Why?" she asked perplexed.

"Why not?" he asked curiously.

"Because stuff like that only happens in the twilight zone," Will replied. Blunk, who adored Twilight Zone, looked at her blankly. "Never mind." The future was weird indeed.

* * *

They finally made it to the old bridge. "Here," Will commanded. She was hitching a ride on Lei's back. Matt Olsen stood close by his side. They looked down over the edge of the bridge were the railing was broken. It had to be where Will had fallen.

"Any suggestions?" Lei Lin asked no one in particular.

"I would suggest us jumping over the edge and praying that the portal opens," Matt muttered. "If I wasn't afraid of heights and pretty much a shoe in for drowning."

"Maybe I can get the Heart to open another red portal," Will said trying to summon up some energy to move. "I don't know how the portal was opened but maybe it does."

"Can you stand on your own?" Lei Lin asked her gently.

"No," she replied honestly. She took the Heart from around her neck, and held if out over his shoulder, with her right hand. "Please work."

The Heart started to glow dimly. Will found herself slipping out of Lei's grasp as she turned into a pink orb of light. Lei soon changed into a brown light and Matt turned into a blue one. "Uh-oh."

"What the hell?" the brown light, Lei, muttered.

"This is new," the blue orb, Matt, declared.

The heart levitated in the air, near the three orbs. It absorbed the mystified three and soon it too, disappeared.

* * *

Young Will and Blunk noticed the Heart glowing a vibrant pink. She took it from around her neck and held it out. Three small orbs of light, escaped from it. "What in the world is going on?" Will whispered, more than a little freaked out.

"Hello Will," the pink orb of light said.

"Uh, hi."

"I need your help."

"And you would be?" Will asked blankly.

"You," Will's eyes widened in disbelief, "and I really need your assistance."

"I'd say," the brown and blue orbs muttered.

"Okay," Will replied slowly.

* * *

The Meridian Guard were effectively destroying Phobos's army. The excitement of victory was short lived, because the fact became apparent that each time one of the enemy fell, the energy from the creature returned back to the staff.

This fact was not helping Queen Elyon, Bos, and the girls who were using their combined energy to stave off an energy attack from the evil Phobos. As the power of the staff grew, the forces of good were slowly being overpowered.

Since Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin were not in Guardian form, they were soon thrown backwards out of the fray, their energy overwhelmed.

Phobos decided that it was the perfect time to get rid of them for good. He guided Irma and Cornelia toward the Meridian Lake of Lava. He guided Hay Lin toward jagged edges of rock and Taranee toward the Meridian Lake.

A large portal opened up above the scene. Hay Lin, Irma, and Cornelia screamed in horror, inches from being killed. Taranee was trying desperately to break Phobos's hold on her. "Guardians Unite!" Caleb looked up, his eyes narrowing in anger as he saw her. At Will, the Guardian of Energy's, command the girls changed back into their Guardian forms, just before meeting really horrible endings.

Their wings flapped frantically as they rose in the air. "Will!" The Guardians flew to her side.

_Great, _Phobos thought bitterly.

"I thought we told you to stay at the castle," Irma declared smirking.

"Thanks for the save," Hay Lin said happily.

"What's with the lights?" Cornelia asked. A pink glow surrounded Will and two orbs one blue and the other brown orbited around her.

"You must destroy the staff!" This command came from the blue orb, which flew over to circle the other guardians.

"Did that orb just speak to us?" Taranee said surprised.

"Matt," Hay Lin said her eyes narrowed.

"Yeah that is Matt and I am Lei," the brown orb said. "Hello and good afternoon. You must destroy the staff if you want to see the Will from our time alive."

"What?" The Guardians said together in shock.

"Destroy the staff or she dies," Lei commanded.

"Destroy the staff, save the Will," Will said quickly. "Are you guys with me?" The Guardians nodded. "Matt! Lei! Give Caleb the run down before he charges forward and tries to drag me back to the castle."

"We'll do," Lei replied. As the Guardians flew toward Phobos, they scanned the battlefield for Caleb. "There he is!" The brown orb hurried toward Caleb with the blue one following him.

"You did not tell them that destroying the staff will destroy Phobos," Matt said.

"They'll thank me later," Lei replied. "Besides you didn't either."

* * *

The Guardians landed beside Elyon and Bos. "I thought I commanded you to stay at the castle," Queen Elyon said, her concentration focused on stopping Phobos's attack.

"What can I say," Will replied shrugging. "I am a rebel." She turned her attention to their enemy and yelled, "Ready for Round Two?"

"Why will you not die?" he muttered in anger.

"Us Will Vandoms are like roaches," Will replied, forming a ball of energy in her hands. "We keep coming back for the simple pleasure of making your life Hell, Queen Phobos." She raised her hands high in the air, pink energy glowing around them. "Lightning!"

_Why you,_ Phobos thought in anger, as she unleashed her massive attack. It mingled with the energy of Queen Elyon and Bos's. The other Guardians called on their elements and lent their energy to his most hated enemies.

The wave of powerful pure energy overpowered Phobos, striking him with enough force to knock him off his feet. The guardians' cheered.

"Is it just me or are we stronger?" Irma asked, smiling in triumphant.

"Two Hearts are better than one," Will replied all smiles. "We are stronger. Thanks to her . . . me or whatever."

"Two Hearts?" The Queen, her brother, and the other Guardians exclaimed.

"Yep," Will replied seriously. "We won't defeat him until we separate him from that dumb staff. Cornelia, Hay Lin I am counting on you to do that."

"Lets end this battle Cornelia," Hay Lin said smiling. Both guardians rose in the air. "We cannot let him suspect us."

"We can cover ourselves by helping the Meridian Guard fight those ugly green henchmen," Cornelia quietly suggested.

* * *

Phobos got to his feet, his normally pale face, burning in either anger or embarrassment. "None of you will leave this battlefield alive," he said icily.

"You messed with the wrong girl!" Will yelled, with eyes narrowed, her hands started to channel more pink energy. "Let's take him down!"

Phobos smirked evilly. Did they not realize that, by standing together they were making it easier for him to destroy them? He briefly searched the area for the Earth and Air Guardians. They were helping the Meridian Army. His eyes turned white as he powered up. All that he wanted was within his grasp. He just needed a little more patience.

Unbeknownst to him, Cornelia and Hay Lin were plotting his demise. Under Hay Lin's command, the air around him started to dissipate. Vines deep underground, under where Phobos stood, were posed to grab the staff at the moment he started to show weakness.

The brown orb started to circle Cornelia. "Sorry that I am late."

"And as a ball of light no less," she replied using her telekinesis to pull two of the green henchmen off of a Meridian soldier.

"He used Matt and I as instruments to assassinate Will," he revealed, his angry evident in his tone. "If we do not destroy that staff, she will die and it will be my fault."

"Don't worry Lin," Cornelia replied. "I am working on it." She smirked evilly. "You know, I think you look better as a ball of light."

"Funny," he muttered in a bored tone.

"Where is Will?"

"She is the light surrounding her younger half," he replied. "I do not know how long she will be able to hold that form before . . . ."

"Please do not say it," Cornelia commanded. "We'll destroy that staff long before that happens."

* * *

"I am so sorry Caleb," Matt muttered again.

"Stop saying that," Caleb commanded. "The Guardians will save her." _They have to._

"We do not have much time," Matt declared. "She's really sick."

Caleb parried an attack with his sword from an enemy, sending the creature into a spin. He bent and swept-kicked the creature's legs out from under it. It landed on its head; Caleb punctured the creature's abdomen with his sword. It turned to a black mist that floated toward the staff. "Have faith in the girls," he muttered. He rushed to his father's aid, who was surrounded by the enemy.

* * *

"_Abandon him. He is the enemy. He does not deserve our gift of life." _The air slowly fled further away from Phobos.

* * *

Phobos was having a war of energy against Elyon, Elyon's abomination of a brother, and the Guardians of Energy, Fire, and Water.

He did not notice the air had thinned around him, until it was gone. Revenge was swift, as a bolt of lightning descended from the skies and struck Hay Lin. "Hay Lin!" Her friends, family, and loved ones called as she fell from the sky.

* * *

Caleb rushed toward her, as she fell, his father and Aldarn covering his flank. He caught her, before she could crash to the ground. "Hay Lin," he whispered.

Matt orbited them worried. "Is she okay?" Their relationship had just really started. She became his best friend and closes confident when Will dumped him. She was right there when he decided to train to be an archer after he lost the ability to turn to Shagon. She decided to learn archery too, and he did know which one of them was worse at it at first. Love came much later. "Please tell me she'll be okay."

"I don't know," Caleb answered quietly. "I don't know."

* * *

Cornelia's arm rose, her blue eyes snapping with anger. The vines pierced through the ground, one snaking its way around Phobos, coiling around his body, and stopping in a vice like grip around his neck. The other vine coiled around the staff, and started yanking downward.

* * *

Phobos, already short of breath, gasped for air, only making the vine tighten its hold on him. He tried to hold on to the staff, breath, and continue his onslaught against the forces of good. Cornelia balled her hand into a tight fist; the vines tightened their holds.

Queen Elyon, Bos, and three very pissed Guardians energy levels became more powerful as their mounting hatred and fear over Hay Lin grew.

Phobos's hands released the staff for only a moment, but that was all it took for the forces of good to overpower him. Their energy blast seared off his clothes and his skin. His feet left the ground. He landed on his stomach with a thud.

Queen Elyon used her magic to dissipate the energy ball.

* * *

As his sister and the Guardians rushed to Hay Lin, Bos approached his evil half. He was visibly shaking, for this was his greatest fear. This moment was his nightmare. As his feet brought him closer to the grounded figure, he held out his right hand for the staff.

The vine that separated Phobos from the staff had not been able to hold on to it, as it descended back into the ground. The staff had fallen on the ground a few inches away from what was left of Phobos.

* * *

As Will flew toward Hay Lin, behind the other guardians, she started to fill lightheaded. "What's happening?"

"I cannot hold on anymore," her older self said telepathically to her. "Tell the others that I love them and that I am very sorry."

* * *

At Bos's silent command, the staff levitated off the ground and then hurried to his outstretched hand. He gracefully caught it.

* * *

"But we beat him," Will said her eyes filling with tears. "I won't let it end this way." She made a u-turn in the air and hurried back toward Phobos and the staff. She saw the staff fly through the air toward Phobos "The Good." When his hands touched the staff, the two Wills separated, both falling from the sky and landing hard on the sandy ground.

* * *

Caleb, who had moved aside to let Cornelia try to heal Hay Lin, saw them separate and rushed toward them, dodging some of Phobos's men to get to her side. For some reason the creatures had stopped attacking and was standing around looking lost.

* * *

The monster of Bos's nightmares' head snapped up, to glare at him. Bos found him even more menacing, because of the burnt flesh. His attire, hair, and skin were gone. His eyes still shone a vibrant blue evil. "Give that back," he commanded rising to his haunches.

"I-I cannot," Bos replied. "I-I shall destroy it." he cringed at the fear that was evident in his tone.

* * *

Will finally got a chance to see her older self. Neither girl was in their Guardian form anymore. They lay only a few feet away from each other. She had on a dress that Will didn't think she would be caught dead in. She had long red hair._ I look like my Mom. Funny, I never noticed it before. _Will thought her mom the most beautiful person she had ever seen. "Please get up." She reached out her hand and grabbed the cold limp hand of the young woman she would grow up to be. "Please don't die." Tears fell down her cheeks.

Caleb suddenly appeared, dropping to his knees, and wrapped the fallen Will in his arms. "Not you too," he whispered.

* * *

"I will not ask you again," Phobos replied. "Bring it to me."

"My sister and the Guardians should have destroyed you long ago," Bos said softly. "You do not deserve life and I shall take it away."

"You are a ridiculous coward," Phobos declared, baring his teeth in a wicked grin. "You do not have the nerve. Now return that staff to me or face my wrath."

"Big brothers are supposed to protect their little sisters," Bos said his voice gaining strength with his confidence. "You are the coward!" He pointed at Phobos with the staff. This part was not a part of his nightmare. The nightmare that always ended with him meekly walking over and giving the staff back to Phobos. In his mounting anger he deviated from the dream, surprising both him and Phobos.

"Give me back my staff!" Phobos ranted.

* * *

Will released the hand of her older self, determined to make her body move so she could drop that evil staff in the lake of fire where it belonged. _This is not over yet._ She glanced over at Caleb and then got to her feet.

* * *

"Malin, our pact is undone," Bos started. _I can do this. I must do this._

* * *

"Be quiet!" The shout caught Will's attention. She could not hear the words from the Phobos that was on their side, but they were obviously upsetting Evil Phobos. "Don't you say another word!" He shouted, sounding almost crazed.

* * *

"Be quiet!" Phobos yelled.

"I do not accept your terms," Bos said. "Do with me what you will."

"Do not say another word!" Phobos shouted trying to get to his feet, even though every single part of him ached.

"I release you," Bos whispered. The staff turned to dust in his hands. "It is done."

"You fool!" Phobos screeched.

"Takes one to know one," Bos whispered. They both started to fade away along with what was left of the soldiers. "This fool . . . this coward . . . has the last laugh."

"We're both dust," Phobos muttered. "Neither one of us has the last laugh you cowardly idiot."

"Then all is right in this world," was Bos's final words as they both faded away. Where he once stood, a white rose lay on the ground. Where Phobos once was, a black rose lay in the sand.

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter will probably be confusing with all the jumping around that occurred in it. I have to give this spoiler because things look so bleak. There is only one character that will die and it is not one of the current Guardians. If you are wondering where the other guardians are, Cornelia and Elyon are trying to heal Hay Lin. It isn't working and Irma and Taranee are lending their energy hoping to elevate Cornelia and Elyon's healing powers.


	11. A Chapter Finished

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

Chapter 10: A Chapter Finished

"_Then all is right in this world," was Bos's final words as they both faded away. Where he once stood, a white rose lay on the sand. Where Phobos once was, a black rose lay in the sand._

The sand storm that Cornelia Hale had whipped up at the beginning of the battle dissipated with particles of sand still floating around in the air. Queen Elyon, who was trying to help Cornelia the Guardian of Earth heal Hay Lin, felt her brother's essence disappear. She gasped, and looked back toward the other side of the battlefield where she had last seen him. Her brother was gone. "Bos!" she screamed, her eyes closing, tears escaping, and falling down her cheeks.

Irma Lair the Guardian of Water, stood from her perch next to Hay Lin to seek him out. Bos was nowhere to be seen and neither was Phobos. "What happened?" she asked. The fear already in her eyes over Hay Lin, quickly turning to panic. Her panicked eyes briefly fell on the fallen Will Vandom, young Will, and Caleb. _No. _She fell to her knees in shock. _We lost . . . He beat us._

"He's gone," Queen Elyon replied heartbroken. "I cannot feel his life force anymore." She retracted her hands to her side. "Hay Lin is gone as well." She bowed her head, her arms moving on their own accord to hug herself. Her tears still escaped her closed eyelids. They fell to mix in with the sand on the ground to create small mud puddles.

"I can do this," Cornelia said in determination but her voice breaking. "She will come back." Her eyes were closed in concentration, green energy shinning around her hands.

"No, she's gone," Queen Elyon replied, her head still bowed. "I can't sense Will either." Cornelia looked up at her, blue eyes wide and brimming with tears of grief. Her tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Hay Lin," Matt Olsen and Lei Lin whispered in grief. The two orbs hovered over the scene, their flickering in and out signaling their grief.

"No!" Taranee Cook shouted tearfully.

The Meridian Royal Guard looked on in sadness. Aldarn hurried to be by the Queen's side and Julian hurried to his son Caleb.

Young Will looked around watching the aftermath in shock. Tears ran out of her eyes in what seemed like never ending streams. This was not what she thought she would see when she was thrown into the future. If she had foreseen all this pain in misery, she never would have agreed to be a Guardian in the first place. It wasn't fair. "It wasn't supposed to end like this."

"Will go back to the castle," Caleb commanded softly. "You should not be here." She turned back to him. He had to be devastated but he still found enough gumption to order her about. The Will he had been trying so hard to protect was gone . . . .

"He destroyed the staff . . . I saw it," she whispered. "Why aren't they alive?"

"Go back to the castle, Will," he repeated.

An old man, unseen by them all, unemotionally watched the scene. His heavy robes were the color of the skies. "It is undone." He waved his right arm over the scene. He could have fixed things the very moment that the staff was destroyed, but he wanted the mortals to feel the consequences of using the staff so none would be tempted to use it again. Matt and Lei turned back to their human forms. Younger Will disappeared as her older self opened her eyes. She coughed and a black ooze dislodged from her throat. She spit the disgusting stuff out and wiped the remnants of the ooze away. Someone was holding her and she looked up and found herself looking up into Caleb's eyes.

"Will," he whispered.

"Hi," she said confused. He hugged her tightly. "Where am I?"

"Meridian," he replied, clinging to her for dear life.

"How did I get here?" she asked softly. "The last thing I remember is jumping off the bridge."

"Remind me to kill you for that later," he muttered, his lips resting upon her brow. "Will's alive!" His voice was muffled against her forehead.

"Hay Lin is not," Julian said softly, startling both Will and Caleb. They looked up at him in shocked grief. Caleb stood. Julian and he helped Will to her feet.

* * *

Hay Lin was not in Meridian anymore. She had left her physical body and now stood in a place of pure white. She wore a white robe trimmed in gold, instead of her Guardian uniform. "Oh crap, I died," she said unhappily.

"Only my sweet granddaughter would sum death up quite so elegantly." Hay Lin turned and came face-to-face with her grandmother, Yan Lin. "Hello, Dear." Hay Lin ran into her open arms.

"What are you doing here?" Hay Lin asked softly. The two stepped a part.

"Saying good bye to you," Yan Lin replied.

"So this is really the end for me?" Hay Lin asked sadly.

"It is a new beginning for you," Yan Lin replied. Her voice soft. "You have been given a second chance at life."

"Yay!" Hay Lin hooted happily. A sudden awful thought stopped her victory dance. "Then why are we saying good bye?" she asked softly.

"I miss your Grandfather and my friends," Yan Lin whispered. "I shall reunite with them very soon."

"Grandma," Hay Lin said her eyes filling with unshed tears. _You have been given a second chance at life. _"No . . . you should be the one giving a second chance."

"I have lived my life to the fullest and I have no regrets," Yan Lin said, embracing her granddaughter. "You should not have any either. I made this choice freely because it is not your time. I watched you grow up to become a beautiful independent young woman and a very capable Guardian that I am very proud of. I shall watch over you from here."

Hay Lin held on to her tightly. "I'll miss you so much."

"I will always be with you," Yan Lin whispered. "Take care of the other guardians for me."

"I love you."

"I love you too," she said softly. "Send your cousin my love. I am counting on you and Cornelia keeping him in line now that I cannot." Hay Lin faded away out of her arms. She felt no remorse in given up her life in exchange for Hay Lin's, but she would miss her family greatly. She smiled sadly, until she felt two familiar strong hands grab her shoulders. "Hello, you," she said softly. Happiness engulfed her.

"Do not be sad. You will always be with them. As I was always with you."

* * *

Hay Lin opened her eyes, gasping for breath loudly. She looked around at her startled teary eyed friends. "What is the matter?" she asked unhappily. She was ready to start bawling too.

"Hay Lin!" She was smothered into a huge group hug.

"Don't scare us like that anymore," Lei Lin declared frowning.

"How?" Queen Elyon asked speechless.

"Someone we all love gave up her life for mine." _Grandma I will miss you._

As they hurried to the scene Will, Julian, and Caleb smiled in relief as Hay Lin was smothered by the others. "Welcome back Lin," Caleb said.

"Did we save Will?" Hay Lin asked, her arms still wrapped around Matt. She looked at Will closely to see if she was okay.

"We saved Will," Will replied smiling brightly. The girls soon swarmed in on her for hugs. "I don't remember what happened but it must have been intense."

"Hey, where did Mini-Will go?" Hay Lin asked breaking from the hug to look for the other Will.

"She disappeared just as Will revived," Caleb replied. "I hope that she was sent back to her time."

"Will being alive suggest that wherever she is, she is okay," Taranee replied tears still openly falling down her cheeks.

"She's home," Queen Elyon confirmed softly. She was relived that both Will and Hay Lin were safe, but the loss of her brother was a bitter wound. She briefly glanced at Irma, whose usually smirking face was devoid of color and emotion. She then turned toward her army. "We have won the day! Aldarn give me an account of the injured and then I will heal the more severely injured here."

"Yes my Queen," Aldarn said. His eyes betrayed his sorrow for her. He knew how much she cared for Bos. Irma cared for him also. He watched her approach Irma and then he turned to his men to quickly do the queen's bidding.

"Did he tell you that he was planning this?" Queen Elyon asked softly.

"No," Irma replied, her face devoid of emotion. "He knew not to tell me because I would've used the tricks of my trade to talk him out of it."

"He did not tell me either," she replied.

"I am so sorry you guys," Taranee said softly. "I know this is hard and little consolation but Bos did what he was created to do."

"How would you know that?" Queen Elyon demanded, tearfully.

"I have been reading your brother's book collection. The one that you forbid me to read. I read about the staff and it's power. 'The powers that be' balanced the use of the staff by creating one who would be able to wield the staff once the bond was made. The being was given his own free will and life. He could choose to walk away. He could choose to walk in the power of darkness. He could choose to break the bond. A deed that only he could accomplish because we all know that Phobos, the original contract holder, was not going to do it."

"That means that Bos chose to save us all," Queen Elyon said softly. "He didn't have to, but that was the kind of person that he was." Her tears fell. "If only Phobos was . . ." She broke off her sentence before the others could hear her true thoughts _. . . Like him from the start._

"So much for my happy ending," Irma whispered. She walked to where she last saw Bos. _The comic relief is just that the comic relief. Happy endings are only reserved for everyone else in the story. _Her eyes found the white rose in the sand. She picked it up. "Bos."

Queen Elyon grabbed the black rose. She crushed it in her hands not carrying that the thorns of the stem tore into her flesh. The pain was only a mild physical representation of what Phobos put her through.

* * *

In the present, the barrier that surrounded the stunned young teens dissipated. They were in Caleb's room and could not remember how they got there and could not account for a lot of missing time.

* * *

Will woke up at the bridge with Blunk staring down at her. "You made it back!" he said cheering.

"You stink and what am I doing out here?"_ I should be somewhere else . . . but where? _Tears were falling down her cheeks but she did not remember why. She was resting on what looked like Caleb's jacket and wearing a shirt she did not recognize. She stood clutching the jacket in her hands. She tried to wipe away the tears with her arm.

She remembered the ridiculous curfew her mother gave her and after saying goodbye to a way to hyper Blunk, she headed quickly for home. Her mother was not there. Will knew that she would be in a lot of trouble once her mother arrived. _I am so grounded._

She gave in to tears again. The source of her tears were still a mystery to her.

* * *

In the future, after having a meeting with Queen Elyon the Guardians headed back to Earth . . . .

"Where were you?" Tears filled Hay Lin's eyes as she faced off with her parents. They had just presented her with the news that Yan Lin had passed away. She wished she could tell them that she already knew and that Yan Lin traded her life for hers but she could not.

"I was carrying on Grandmother's legacy," she replied honestly. It was a generic answer that Yan Lin usually gave for Hay Lin when she had to leave on Guardian business. "She said that I had to continue it even if she was not here to guide me anymore. I am sorry I wasn't here for you but I am now."

"Hay Lin," Chen Lin said capturing his daughter in a tight hug. Joan Lin wrapped her arms around them both, her tears falling freely.

"She will always watch over us," Hay Lin said softly. "And we will watch out for each other _and _Lei." Her cousin was sitting in Yan Lin's room, holding her hand. He would miss her as about as much as her family and she. Hay Lin would have to mend the relationship between Lei and her father. Lei did a great job of happily earning her father's hate upon his arrival to Heatherfield.

"When did you become so insightful?" Chen Lin asked, seeing a quality of Yan Lin in Hay Lin that he had never noticed before.

* * *

Will could not believe that Yan Lin was gone. She had hoped that she would get to speak to her one last time before the older guardian died but that was not to be. For some reason, Will felt a peace about the situation that she did not understand. Maybe it was the fact that Yan Lin had happily traded her life for Hay Lin's. She obviously had no regrets and for someone to sacrifice their life for someone that they loved was truly inspiring.

Will decided that was the way she wanted to go when death decided to have her in it's sights.

Apparently, death had set its sights on her earlier that day but she had beat it. Thanks in part to her younger self, the Heart, Matt, Lei, Blunk, Caleb, and the Guardians both past and present. She did not understand why she could not remember all the events that happened earlier that day, but it was slowly starting to come back to her.

The waiting room they were camped in had run out of coffee so she and Caleb were on a mission to get drinks for the others. They had left their devastated friends huddled together in grief at the back of the spacious room.

They found coffee in the waiting room that had the hospital chapel attached to it. Will started to fix the drinks the way she knew her friends liked and Caleb just wondered around aimlessly. After a few moments, he stopped pacing. "It feels like I lost my mom," he muttered. "We had been expecting it for days now but . . . I just . . . it's hard."

Will stepped away from pouring mounds of sugar into Irma's cup of coffee and shuffled over to him. She wrapped her arms around him from behind. "I feel the same way." He placed both of his hands over hers. "But she sacrificed her life for Hay Lin's and that makes me want to celebrate her life and who she was over mourning."

"I am going to miss her," he said sounding broken. This was the Caleb that rarely showed himself. Their roles were now reversed.

"I know and so will I."

The day had been a piggy back ride on a giant troll of emotion for him. Anticipation for the battle ahead. Excitement over the return of Will. Surprise seeing her stumble out of the airport in what seemed like a life or death sprint. Fear that he would not catch her before whatever she was running from got her to hurt herself. Unbelief when he saw her run to the middle of the old bridge and without hesitation vault over the railing; fearlessly jumping in after her. Shock after colliding with Will's younger self, plunging in the water below, and then realizing . . . she was her younger self. Grief was the emotion that almost won the day but Will and Hay Lin coming back to life gave him relief from the pain.

Will and Caleb stayed like that for a few moments. They had their eyes closed with Will's head resting against his back. Then she pulled away so she could go finish making the drinks but he turned and caught her right arm. She stopped, turned, and looked at him surprised. "You're back for good . . . right?"

"Yes." She was tired of running from her problems. It obviously was not working, if they could so easily be used to manipulate her into trying to kill herself. "I apologize for using my grandmother's illness as a crutch to run away from you."

"You admit it," he said. His green eyes searching hers for any type of deception. He would fine none.

"Freely," she replied.

Caleb released her but then grabbed her shoulders looking like he wanted to shake some sense into her. She saw that his eyes turned from grief to anger. "Why didn't you tell me about your grandmother until after you had left?" His angry green eyes collided with her calm cinnamon colored ones. In her honest opinion, he had every right to be pissed.

The very day Caleb thought they had become a couple—a person would assume that after they spent the better part of a night making out with said offender—Will had waited until he left for Meridian, packed her bags, bought a plane ticket, waited for hours, and then boarded it and left Heatherfield.

It wasn't a move that Will just came up with out of the blue, her father had sent her a letter requesting she spend some time with his real mother before she passed away. The letter had arrived a couple of weeks before she made her sudden decision to leave.

"I was scared and I also used Cornelia as an excuse." _Might as well get it all out in the open._

_Was scared?_ Did that mean she wasn't afraid anymore? "What were you afraid of?"

"The pain that I felt when my mom died . . . I never wanted to feel that way again. I distanced myself from the other guardians but you showed up at my doorstep and some how I let myself become dependent upon you. Your almost dying was my wakeup call." She closed her eyes. "I just did not want to care about someone so much and then they die and leave me behind. It feels horrible."

With the passing of Yan Lin, Caleb could relate to her feelings but that did not mean he agreed with her actions. "How do you think you just up and leaving made me feel?" he asked. "I love you, I really do, but I refuse to stand on the sidelines because you are too afraid of being hurt." She shocked him and even herself a little when she stepped calmly forward, stood on her tip toes and kissed him briefly on the lips.

"Believe me . . . you're in the game," she replied smiling up at him. She gently pulled her arm out of his grasp and then went back to fixing the coffee.

He stood there to stunned to move at first. "Thanks for letting me know," he muttered lamely. "What changed?"

"I changed," she replied slowly. "I think it happened during my time in the past or during the time that I spent merged with my younger self." She wished she could remember. She made a mental note to ask Elyon to help her to do so when the time presented itself.

* * *

Elyon Brown stood in front of the Heatherfield Hospital with a very heavy heart. The majority of the people of Earth did not know of her status as a Queen of Meridian or that the place even existed at all. She had left her crown behind and dawned a little white sun dress. She wanted to come back to Earth with the guardians but many of her people were hurt during the battle. She had to heal them and stay the fears of others.

Phobos was finally gone but even in death he managed to rob her of joy. Bos deserved to live his own life and not be destroyed with his evil half. It wasn't fair.

Elyon was devastated and she knew Irma had to feel the same way. Bos had been a shadow to everyone but Irma and she. _I hate you Phobos. I hate you. _No one could ever guess that such deep emotions churned inside of the cute little blonde. She looked as if her only care in the world was imaginary zit control. She finally walked inside the hospital with her head held high.

She felt his presence the moment she stepped inside the hospital. The doors closed behind her as her eyes widened in surprise. _It cannot be. _She walked toward the elevators her whole being focused on the presence she felt. She did not even notice the looks the people in the first floor waiting room gave her.

After pressing the button, she waited patiently for the elevator; her being still focused on his. The elevator opened and she walked inside as if in a trance. She pressed the button to the highest floor and then the doors closed behind her. Usually she would be clinging to the railing for her dear life but fear never crossed her mind as she headed for his location.

The doors finally opened and then she walked slowly to her destination. It was not visiting hours in the particular branch of the hospital she was in but the staff let her pass with little or no interference; the almost ethereal glow surrounding her giving them pause. To them she looked like an angel. His room was at the end of the very long hall. He was laying in a hospital bed, hooked to machines. He looked like an angel as he slept. _Thank goodness._

_

* * *

  
_

In the present . . . .

"Who is that?" Hay Lin asked almost scaring Caleb to death. She had this weird habit of popping up almost out of nowhere. She was referring to some pictures he had drawn. They were all of the same pretty lady with long hair. For some reason the lady was familiar to Hay Lin.

"I don't know," Caleb replied. "Every since earlier today I have been seeing this girl in my head," he replied dropping his pencil to scratch his head. He was not surprised when Hay Lin jumped on his back so she could hang over his shoulder to study the picture he was working on more closely.

"It looks like Will's mom," she declared thoughtfully. "She is really pretty."

"Really?" Caleb asked surprised. He never officially met Will's mother before. He studied the drawing carefully.

"Yeah she looks like some exotic princess of a faraway land that I cannot pronounce," Hay Lin declared. "Will looks like her too. The red hair and the boyish clothes kind of throws it off. Will is just as pretty as she is."

"Why would I be drawing Will's mom?" Caleb asked confused. "I don't know her."

"You tell me buddy," Hay Lin replied solemnly. "You tell me." Caleb rolled his eyes heavenward.

* * *

In the future . . . .

"Oh, I wish I could be in there with him." Cornelia groaned in frustration. "He is surrounded by enemies." Cornelia was referring to Lei Lin. Hay Lin's parents definitely did not like him and his prodigal mother had shown up as well. She pretty much threw Lei out of as speeding car when he first came to Heatherfield so there was no love lost there. There were other family members of the Lin's there but none knew Lei and what they heard about him from Hay Lin's parents had to be awful.

"You are lucky you get a chance to be in the building," Caleb muttered. "Matt is stuck out in the parking lot." Matt was not the ideal guy that the Lin's had in mind for Hay Lin.

"That does not compute in my brain," Taranee muttered. She had an arm wrapped protectively around Irma. "They let her date Eric."

"She was twelve," Will said, her head resting on Caleb's shoulder. "Who in their right mind would think a relationship you start when you are twelve would be serious enough to last into adulthood?"

"Only the kiddies within the relationship and their geeky little friends and classmates," Irma muttered, causing everyone to look at her in surprise. She had not spoken much after having a massive panic attack over the losses of Bos and Mrs. Lin.

"Mr. and Mrs Lin realize that Hay Lin's relationship with Matt has a chance to last. Hay Lin is older, wiser, and does not hang on their every word like it is the gospel anymore," Cornelia said. "To them Matt is the enemy in more ways than one."

"Mrs. Lin was content with the pair and only wanted Hay Lin to be happy," Caleb muttered.

"I am going to miss her," Irma muttered tears in her eyes. Her friends had already cried and even Caleb had shed a few tears. It made her feel awful that she was the one that would start a new round of waterworks.

Will hid her tears in Caleb's shoulder. Irma had taken a double hit today and she mourned for her friend. Things never seemed to end right for Irma. He wrapped her tighter into his embrace.

"We all are," Cornelia replied grabbing Irma's hand. "We are officially alone in the world." They knew she was referring to their status as Guardians. All the members of C.H.K.Y.N. were now gone.

"She taught us well," Taranee replied softly. "It'll be really . . . really difficult but we can handle it." _We have to._

The door to their waiting room burst open. Elyon Brown stepped in. Her friends were mercifully the only ones inside. "It's a miracle," she said happily. She studied their startled faces. "Bos he's here . . . he's alive!"

Irma stood in shock it barely registering in her mind that she pulled Cornelia and Taranee up with her. "Elyon," Irma said slowly.

"I felt his presence as soon as I entered the doors of the hospital," Elyon explained happiness radiating from her. "I'll take you to him." Irma just stood staring at her. She was to stunned to move.

"Snap out of it Irma!" Cornelia commanded snapping the fingers of her free hand in her friend's face. Her other hand was still holding on to Irma's.

"Bos is here and he is alive," Taranee repeated looking at her friend in concern.

"Irma . . . go!" Will commanded. "We'll be here when you return."

"Right," Irma replied slowly snapping out of her trance.

"Go!" Her friends commanded her. Before she could follow the command, a fed up Cornelia dragged her to the door. As Irma followed Elyon out of the room, Cornelia decided against using her foot to propel the girl out of the room faster.

"Thank goodness," Cornelia said briefly resting the back of her head against the door after it closed. "Irma was seriously starting to scare me." She walked gracefully back to her seat. Irma's panic attack had scared them all. It came out of no where in the middle of the meeting they had with the queen in her castle before coming back to Heatherfield.

"That was a side of her that I personally don't want to see again," Taranee replied. "She was supposed to be trying to make us feel better over this situation."

"She loves him," Will said. "Obviously more so than I realized." When Will was living with her grandmother, Irma had called her more than a few times to talk about her prince.

"If only Yan Lin would have lived . . . then this day would be perfect," Taranee said softly. Her words sobered the group.

Matt entered the waiting room, centering everyone's attention upon him. He looked resolved but also very tired. "Hey," he said with a little wave.

"Matt," Will, Caleb, and Taranee said surprised.

"Are you crazy?" Cornelia voiced what they were all thinking. They had all gone through considerable lengths to conceal the seriousness of the relationship between Matt and Hay Lin from her dad. It was not yet the time to spring this one on him. "We have a plan . . . get out so we can follow it!"

"Everything has changed now," Matt replied.

Cornelia rushed to get in his personal space. He found the tall blonde rather intimidating. "Yes everything has changed for us . . . our group. To Mr. Lin you will still be the snake in the garden that he does not trust. A snake who would use his mother's death to try to weasel his way into his good graces." Matt looked conflicted.

Will silently watched the two. Leave it to Corni to dive into the worse case scenario and grab it by the horns. The problem was she was probably right. If the Lins saw Matt here he would so be busted. "This path will make things more difficult," she said slowly. "Are you ready to walk it?"

The question being posed by her was definitely ironic. When Matt and Hay Lin's tentative relationship first started, his lingering feelings for Will were their biggest obstacle. They had overcome that and now their biggest obstacle was Hay Lin's parents. It was ironic because the old obstacle was prepping Matt to be certain about facing the new one.

"If you are not . . . leave now because if you hurt Hay Lin because you aren't . . . you and I will have a serious problem," Caleb muttered.

"That goes double from me," Taranee said folding her arms. "Are you ready to tough out being treated like scum because of your career choice and because you are not a certain race?" As a musician Matt was used to being pretty much worshiped by everyone. It was obvious to them all he would not get the same treatment in the Lin household.

"I am ready," he replied honestly. Cornelia snorted in disbelief. "I am." His voice was firm.

"Just do not come crying to me with you are treated like crap . . . Superstar," she said rolling her eyes heavenward. She turned and glided back to her seat.

Matt was thankful that Will was back. Cornelia had taken lead of the group and ruled with a tough love iron fist. Caleb maybe would have given his threat but the question that Will asked would not have been broached if she were gone. "Welcome back Will," he said softly.

"That is one thing we agree on," Cornelia replied. "I am tired of leading around these freeloaders who take up every bit of my emotional energy." Matt knew he was at the top of the freeloader list. Caleb was probably on that list too. All of them were on the list; even Will who wasn't even around.

"I should have come back sooner but I have been settling my grandmother's estate and I was happily using that as an excuse to not come back here."

Cornelia looked at her in surprise. "Okay, where is the cowardly lion hiding and why has he felt the need to pass his badge of courage around to my friends without informing me first?" she wondered in disbelief.

"That is an Irma line if I have ever heard one," Taranee declared almost amused. "I noticed that you two are a little more cozy." She directed this statement to Will and Caleb. "Do you have something you wish to share with the group?"

"I kind of ran away before this could be said officially," Will said ashamed. "Caleb and I are together."

"Finally," Taranee, Cornelia, and Matt said.

"Will what was with the slander in reference of me?" Cornelia asked. "I do not treat guys I have previously dated as my old trinkets. They do not belong to me so they can do whatever they want. I want all my friends to be happy. I do not care how that is achieved. Well . . . as long as it does not have anything to do with turning all Darth Vader on us or something."

"I am sorry," Will replied honestly.

"All is forgiven," Cornelia said slowly. "It better not occur again though."

"You must admit that fourteen-year-old you would have flipped out if one of us would have even thought of dating Caleb or one of your exes," Will said her eyes sparkling.

"Duh, I was spoiled rotten," Cornelia replied an amusement.

_Still is, _Matt thought bitterly.

The atmosphere of the waiting room drastically changed again, when Hay Lin and Lei Lin entered it. The friends were immediately out of their seats and creating a protective barrier around them. Both Lin's welcomed the attention but were shocked to see Matt in the waiting room.

"Matt," Hay Lin whispered breathlessly. She was wrapped protectively in his arms. His presence meant that he was now ready to face her parents with her. The reason that she had not told them about her relationship with Matt sooner was because he was the one holding back. He knew that her relationship with her family would change because of him and did not want that to happen. He wanted them to get to know him first. He even took a part-time job in the Silver Dragon to achieve this goal. His plan never took root because her father spent most of the time in his office rather than out in the actual restaurant.

She really needed Matt by her side.

"Are you off your rocker?" Lei Lin asked him looking at him over Cornelia's blonde head. She was clinging to him trying to offer her strength and support. "You are not supposed to be here."

"Our plan has changed," Matt muttered. "This is exactly where I am supposed to be." Figures Lei would pose the same question that his girl friend had demanded of him earlier.

"You and Hay Lin won't be the only ones affected by this decision if Uncle sees you," Lei Lin said. "Hay Lin's friendship with the other Guardians will be called into question by her parents. They expect me to help Hay rebel but not them."

All their friends with the exception of Will, who was out of town, had aided with helping the pair see each other without the knowledge of Hay Lin's parents. Lei Lin knew that his Uncle Chin would wonder how Matt and Hay Lin could be so close and had not spent much time together. He would then realize that she had to be spending more time with Matt than he was led to believe. Then he would work in the equation that the times that Hay Lin was supposed to be studying with Taranee, shopping with Cornelia, or doing something random with one of her friends; she was really with Matt.

"I know and thank you all," Matt said sincerely. "He was going to realize you guys helped us out anyway. Might as well be sooner rather than later."

"Where's Irma?" Hay Lin asked concerned. She had studied the group from her haven in Matt's arms and noticed Irma missing.

* * *

Elyon was standing outside of her brother's room calmly explaining to the nurses her and Irma's relationship to Bos. Of course she could not tell them everything but she did reveal that the hospital's John Doe was her brother Phobos and he was supposed to be visiting their family after studying abroad for years. When he had been a no show, her family had assumed he decided to stay in Europe.

She explained Irma's presence simply by saying that Phobos and Irma had a long distance relationship that she had created by playing matchmaker.

She walked in the room a few minutes later to find Irma sitting in a chair near the bed, clutching Bos's hand. "This body had been here for over a month," Elyon said softly. "Almost to the very moment that Bos and Phobos disappeared, it started to react."

"But if whoever this is has been here over a month . . . it can't be Bos," Irma said looking at her confused.

"I believe it was only a body without a soul . . . a shell," Elyon said slowly. "Now his soul is inside it."

"But how can you know for sure that it is Bos and not Phobos?" Irma asked. "No offense but . . . Phobos excels at fooling you."

"Every since I realized exactly how evil Phobos was, I always got this weird intense feeling of foreboding every time I am in his presence. It is like the feeling is alive and I would know that monster from our Bos any day of the week."

"If you are right and this is Bos, should we assume that Phobos has made other accommodations like this too?" Irma asked. "They are the same being even if Bos is the mentally balanced one."

"We have to be on the look out for him," Elyon said her face darkening.

"Why isn't he awake?" Irma asked softly. "If what you say is true, he should be awake."

"Let us see," Elyon said. She walked over to the chair Irma was sitting in and grabbed her hand. She then put her other hand on her brother's shoulder. "Irma, clear your mind and just let go."

* * *

Two souls were locked in a long, fierce battle to gain sole ownership over a body. To gain ownership of this ultimate prize, one soul would have to walk through the gate of Destiny to retrieve it. When the victor finally stood in the end, his opponent was finally broken. "How is it that you can defeat me? You are a coward! I am power! You are a peon! I am a god!"

"You crippled yourself when you decided to only to use the powers of darkness. Darkness eventually bows down to light and love. I realize now that those two elements are my power and they are limitless."

"I hate you," the defeated soul said making a face. "You and that awful creature that my parents spawned who actually has the nerve to call itself my sister!" _If that awful little witch was my sister, she would willingly give up her life to make me more powerful!_

"You were never worth the fear I wasted on you."

"You will learn to fear me again. Darkness always finds the light."

"I will be waiting."

"Bos!" The two souls heard the voices calling out from somewhere behind the gate.

"Irma . . . Elyon."

"Bitch . . . Witch."

The gate opened and the soul of light was swept swiftly inside, eagerly wanting to reunite with the physical embodiments of his power; love and light.

The wounded soul of darkness retreated already plotting his escape. He was created to snuff out light. He was created to prove that love could also fall to darkness. It was only a matter of time.

* * *

His icy blue eyes opened up just when Irma and Elyon were about to give up trying to reach him. His eyes watched them as they cried with happiness. "You come here . . . often?" he asked, his voice hoarse. It was the exact same question Irma posed to him the first time he encountered her; causing Elyon to giggle.

"Welcome back," Irma said. Her trademark smirk finally reappeared back on her face.

* * *

In the present . . . .

The rest of the day went by slowly. Taranee found herself in possession of a letter that was a mystery in itself. It was written by Will to Mrs. Lin. It made reference to things that Taranee neither remembered nor understood. A couple of sentences did stand out though. Will stressing that she would not jump off the Old Williams bridge again and that she was going there to see if she could find clues that would send her back to her home . . . in the future.

_In the future, _Taranee thought shocked. She would have to grill the others on this subject. Something monumental happened today and for some reason no one remembered it. They all had a time lapse that lasted too long for her comfort. It all had to be connected. Taranee stuck the letter inside her journal to make sure she never lost it. Before doing that she made multiple copies of it.

* * *

"Will I gave you a curfew and I expected you to keep it," Susan Vandom said angrily. She glared down at her daughter with her arms folded elegantly under her breasts. "You cannot keep disobeying me. I am the parent. You are the daughter. I know that you think that automatically makes me the enemy but I only have your best interest at heart."

"I am sorry," Will said honestly. "For some reason time got away from me." _Not only time but apparently my clothes as well. _She still didn't know where the shirt she woke up in came from. It wasn't hers and so wasn't a part of the random ensemble that she wore to school.

"Time got away with you," Susan repeated. "You should have come straight home from school. You don't have the grades to have the luxury to be somewhere where time can just fly by without you realizing it."

"I knew that I would be late by a couple of minutes but this truly was unintentionally," Will replied. "Please accept my apology. This was so not purposely done."

"You are grounded."

"Okay."

"Why am I the only one angry?" Susan asked. "You are supposed to be being difficult." She leaned forward over the coffee table and cupped her hand around Will's forehead to judge if she had a fever.

"I don't have it in me today," Will replied softly.

Susan studied her closely as her arm retracted back to her side. There was something off about Will. "Did something happen to you that I should know about?" Susan asked in concern. No one touched her kid. Even if said kid was going through a rotten stage.

_No Mom, except for the fact that I am missing time from my day that I can't remember and used that time to change clothes and cry like a baby. _Will could not get over the fact that she awoke crying. She wasn't one to go crying at random so something traumatic happened to her earlier today. _But_ w_hat was it? _This was not something that she could discuss with her mom because it most likely had to do with her being the leader of W.I.T.C.H. In situations such as these Will wished she had normal problems like normal teenagers so she could discuss this with her mother.

"Will," Susan said slowly. She could tell that something had happened to her daughter. She wanted to know what is was so she could help her fix it.

"I am fine Mom," Will said softly. "Nothing sinister happened to me . . ." _That I know of . . . . _Susan looked as if she did not believe her. It was hard convincing her mother of something she wasn't so convinced of herself. "Mom I-I am fine . . . really."

That stupid wall that Will had built around herself effectively kept Susan in the pin that Will had placed her in. Will was lying to her. "Sometimes I think moving here was a mistake. We have this huge crevice between us that I don't know how to cross and it wasn't there before we moved here." _You won't let me cross._

"It wasn't a mistake Mom," Will said quickly. "I am happy here. Today was just kind of . . . disturbing." She closed her eyes and made a face. ". . . But I am sure whatever happened turned alright in the end."

"Will . . . that is little consolation to me," Susan said in disbelief. "I can tell that something traumatic happened to you today and things working out in the end does little to curve my rising panic. Talk to me. Tell me what happened?"

"You know that feeling you get when you feel like someone is walking over your grave?" Will asked. "That was the feeling I had but for some reason I don't feel that way anymore. I guess it is because I am at home and you are at home . . . and now we are both safe." Her words held some truth to them.

"A feeling . . ." Susan looked at her skeptically.

"I felt like something was going to happen to one of us today and I have been feeling this way every since I awoke this morning. I am sorry I was late. I went to the old bridge to clear my thoughts and time got away from me."

Susan moved from her chair to sit down beside her daughter and wrapped her arm around her thin shoulders. "To tell you the truth, I had the same feelings of foreboding," she admitted. "That is why I went out in search of you."

"Isn't that weird?" Will asked. "That we both had this feeling that something awful would happen to the other?"

"I don't know," Susan replied honestly. "We're both fine."

"I don't want anything to happen to you Mom," Will said softly. "I know that it seems like that I don't care about you or your rules but I do . . . and I would just fall apart if something happened to you." Her voice broke and her eyes started to fill with tears. She fought them back.

"Same here," Susan said. "I can't promise that I will be here forever. I am mortal, after all . . . But as long as I am here you can count on me to have your back no matter what. I will always love you Will."

Her words brought an inner peace to Will that she did not understand. "Ditto," Will replied softly. "Does that mean I am not grounded?"

"No . . . you're still grounded." Will faked a groan and Susan smiled. "You know you would not have to spend so much time studying and or grounded for skipping studying if you had a tutor to help you understand math so your grades would improve."

"I don't have time for a tutor," Will said horrified. Officially earning a dry look from her mother.

"Your friend Taranee would make an excellent tutor. I think you should ask her and I will pay her for her troubles."

Will looked startled at the suggestion. _How embarrassing is it to have to get a tutor? I might as well stamp Dumbass on my forehead. _Will begin to think of the positive side. Having Taranee as a tutor would get her mom off her back about spending every second studying to raise her grades. If Taranee could not teach her, learning math was a lost cause. Also having Taranee as a tutor would be a lot better than having a non-Guardian as a tutor. "Maybe I will."

"Good," Susan said sighing. Will didn't exactly agree but she did not flat out refuse, which was a good thing. "A young woman who looked just like you gave me the suggestion."

"And where did you meet this goddess of a person?" Will asked teasingly. In her opinion, she and anybody who looked like her was the furthest thing from a goddess that one could get. Her mother was the goddess.

Susan laughed softly. "Near the Silver Dragon. I was there in search of you." She closed her eyes, imagining the girl that reminded her so much of her daughter. "It was like getting a glance into your future and you were perfect."

"I have to meet this girl," Will said seriously.

"I think she might work at the Silver Dragon," Susan said slowly. "She had on one of those hostess outfits from there."

"So . . . you see future me as a . . . hostess?" Will asked teasingly.

"Future hostess beats seeing you as a future juvenile delinquent," Susan replied wickedly.

"Mom!" Will exclaimed rolling her eyes heavenward.

* * *

In the future . . . .

Will made a detour inside the cemetery on the way home. She heard Caleb's footsteps behind her as she made her way to her mother's grave. It was dark out but she did not let the thought of ghost and ghouls scare her. Night was the best time to come here to avoid others. She had not spoken with her mother in a long time and she needed to do that. When her mother had first been taken from her, she spent a lot of hours here conversing with her. Something that she failed to do when Susan was alive.

Now Susan knew about The Guardians and everything else that was important to Will.

She planned to buy a huge headstone with the money she had inherited from her grandmother. The one that marked her mother's grave was too small. She wanted it to stand out so people would notice and maybe want to know more about the beautiful mother who had died so young.

When she finally got to her destination, she was pleased to see fresh red and pink roses on the grave. She wondered which one of the Guardians placed them there. "Hi Mom."

Caleb leaned against a particularly huge headstone, with his eyes closed and his arms folded. He listened to Will as she filled her mother in on her life since she left. This had been a ritual of theirs. One that Caleb had missed.

After Will had left, he had actually started coming here himself. Hay Lin and he tended to Susan's grave and brought flowers. They had picked red and pink roses because both colors represented Will. Hay Lin stayed just long enough to arrange the flowers and then rushed off to be with Matt after saying a few words.

At first, it seemed odd talking to a grave, but then Caleb found it therapeutic. He always felt a peace like Susan was really there listening to him rant about her daughter and agreeing with his every word.

"I had such a feeling of inner peace after I woke up from my little adventure today," Will said. "Elyon said it is because I gained strengths from my younger self that I had lost and she said that younger . . . me gained strengths from me. I have no idea what strength that she could possible have gained from me . . . ."

_You're stronger than you realize Will, _Caleb thought. He waited until Will finished her visit and approached him before saying, "I kept her company while you were gone. Hay Lin came with me. She brought roses. She wasn't alone while you were gone so you don't have to feel guilty about that."

Her brown eyes opened in astonishment. "Thank you Caleb but you guys didn't have to go through the trouble," she said. She looked beautiful in the white hostess Qipao that had been provided to her from the past.

"I wanted to," he replied. "Some one had to fill her in on your antics since you could not."

"What would I do without you?"

"I don't know," he replied looking at her from between half-closed lids. "Maybe jump off a bridge and unknowingly opening a portal into the past. Oh yeah, and effectively traumatizing me, yourself, Blunk, and the other Guardians forever."

A laugh escaped her surprised lips. "Traumatizing?" She asked the laugh contradicting the offended tone she was trying to accomplish. "Elyon did a memory binding spell. You guys should not have remembered anything to be traumatized."

"I cannot speak for the others but you . . . as you are now . . . I have been drawing you for years . . . your form haunted me and only after Queen Elyon told us about the memory binding in the meeting earlier today, that I started to put it all together." Elyon had just enough power to bind their memories but not enough to completely erase them.

"You are trying to tell me that you remembered me even though one of the most powerful queens in the universe used a spell to prevent that from happening?" she asked with one red eyebrow raised skeptically.

"You'd be surprised what a teenage boy would remember if he saw someone he really liked."

"I guess Elyon didn't anticipate you ogling the goodies and also be spellbound by them so she did not realize she had to make a spell that took that into account." He laughed loudly. "That laugh . . . I really missed you."

"I missed you too," he replied. This was a typical conversation between the two. Their conversations could start out serious, get completely ridiculous, and then go back to seriousness. "When I awake up tomorrow are you going to still be in Heatherfield?"

"Maybe Meridian," she replied smiling.

"I'm serious," he muttered.

"The only way that you can get me away from Heatherfield is if I have the option of packing you and our friends in my suitcase to take with me."

He stepped forward closing the space between them. To his relief, she did not back away. His arms dropped to her shoulders, his fingers linking behind her head. She met him halfway, standing on her tiptoes, their lips met softly. Will melted into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist. It seemed as if the whole world disappeared and only they existed.

This embrace lasted too long for Thomas Vandom's taste. His daughter's sanity was really called into question with him. He told her to come back to Heatherfield but to keep a very low profile. He had even told her to spend most of her time in Meridian and if she had to comeback to Heatherfield to watch her back. She obviously had a different idea from him about what keeping a low profile meant.

It certainly wasn't making out in a graveyard with a guy who looked like he could kill her with one punch. Many enemies could be hiding in the darkness waiting to attack her. Teenagers and their stupid hormones. He had the good sense—his daughter inherited her mother's evil temper—to wait until after they finished their little graveyard show before saying, "If I were an enemy I could have killed you and so many horrible ways by now."

He stepped from the shadows into the light of the full moon. "Dad," Will said turning to look at him in embarrassment.

"I told you to do one simple thing," Thomas said rolling his eyes heavenward. He ran a hand through his slightly graying red hair.

"Forgive me for being so bold as to think that you had already neutralized the situation," Will said softly. "Or is all those stories grandma told me about her Double-O-Seven son grossly overrated?"

Thomas smirked. "It is pretty much neutralized," he admitted.

_What in the Hell is going on? _Caleb thought watching the scene confused. Will's Dad wasn't intimidating to him but what was being revealed about their relationship sure was.

"I knew it," Will declared smiling.

"What's going on?" Caleb asked before Thomas Vandom could preen over this unknown achievement some more.

"Daddy . . . this is Caleb," Will confirmed, pointing him out over her shoulder with her thumb. "Caleb . . . Daddy."

"Nice to meet you," Caleb said cocking his head in greeting and Thomas did the same, "but that did not answer my question."

"I told you my grandmother left me her entire estate in her will," Will replied. "Someone—who was supposed to be family—put a hit on me to erase me from the equation so they can get the inheritance. Dad has captured the hitman he sent and hopefully he has enough evidence to put my stupid half-uncle in prison for a long time."

In Caleb's opinion, Will's family sounded a lot like the mob that a lot of movies were about. "He tried to have you killed?" he asked alarmed.

"It's taken care of," Will said shrugging the whole disturbing situation off as if it were nothing.

"Not exactly," Thomas said hesitantly.

"What does that mean?" Caleb asked before Will could.

"One fell off my radar," Thomas replied slowly. "He arrived here before I did and I have not been able to locate him. The other is already in custody." Will looked back at Caleb solemnly.

"What does he look like?" Caleb asked quickly. He didn't remember observing anyone nefarious watching Will or following them but the fact of the matter was, Will's dad had sneaked up on them pretty easily so his power's of observation must have been lacking on this occasion. Thomas Vandom went on to explain what the man looked like. Caleb and Will listened closely. One feature stuck out to Caleb afterwards. "A patch covering his right eye?"

"You have seen him?" Thomas asked.

"Blunk and I threw him in the dungeon before I left to pick Will up at the airport," Caleb said smirking. Will laughed in amused relief.

"The dungeon?" Thomas asked skeptically.

"Our basement," Will replied. She realized what she said and quickly recovered, "as in you and I Daddy."

"Right," Thomas said dryily. _Teenagers think they are so damn smart and adults are complete dumbasses._ Sounds like he would be moving to Heatherfield very soon. "You are telling me that you secured Patch?" he asked Caleb.

"He was sneaking around the house so I tracked him and then bashed him over the head with a pan I was about to make breakfast with. Then Blunk and I dragged him in the dungeon and tied him up." Thomas grinned in amusement. Will walked back to Caleb's side and hugged him.

_I better not underestimate him, _Thomas thought watching Will smile up at her frying pan warrior. Not that he did underestimate Caleb but he sure as Hell did not expect him to be able to take down a hitman with ease. "Lets go home then so I collect Patch."

"Blunk is there," Caleb whispered in warning to Will.

"He knows about the Guardians," Will explained. "He knows everything including Blunk." She did not tell him her secret. Thomas found it all out by himself.

"Weird stuff," Thomas declared simply. Will and Caleb turned and started toward the exit of the cemetery. "I'll catch up to you two."

"Okay," Will replied. They watched him approach Susan's grave and then slowly headed for the exit. "That's my dad."

"That's your dad," he agreed. "Do I have to give him my room?"

"Oh, he's going to take your room," Will replied. "You can take my room and I have dibs on the couch. Which means I control the television."

"That doesn't sound fair."

"It's not," she agreed smiling. They walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. "I don't know if I have said this to you directly but . . . I love you too. I know I left you hanging on that front as well." The arm draped carelessly around her shoulder pulled her closer to him. "You gave me the will to live when I was lost and I will always be grateful to you for that."

"I already knew," Caleb replied. "It wasn't easy waiting for you to finally admit it though." They soon heard her father's footsteps swiftly catching up to them.

With the death of Yan Lin, the Guardians would look to her to be a guiding light as well as a effective leader. Evil wasn't going to wait for her to sort our her problems. If she did not sort them out herself their enemies would use them to conquer her Guardians. Phobos proved that today. She would run no more.

A new chapter had begun in Will's life and she would meet it head on. Will wasn't alone in the world, she had the love of her friends, her father, Caleb and that love was strong enough to fight off fear, evil, and demons of the past. Being afraid to be loved and being a afraid of being loved in return was her main enemy in the chapter she had closed, but she now considered that enemy conquered.

Will wrapped her free hand around The Heart and squeezed it. She knew that it creating the red portal saved her life. Thanks to a weird trip into the past—courtesy of the heart—her future looked bright indeed.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Thank you for reading this story. I apologize for it taking so long for me to finish it. I would have finished earlier this year if I hadn't lost my computer. I am still mourning it. I purchased it with my own money and had it for many years. It took a couple of months for it to be replaced.

I loosely followed season 2. I had lost interest in W.I.T.C.H. This story fits more with season one's timeline.

I actually finished this chapter two weeks ago but only got the time to edit it this weekend. I am in the middle of my externship and it takes a lot of my time. I only have time to write on Thursday-Sunday.

Sokai, did you notice my small nod to The Royal Guardian? People who have not read that story read it now.


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